Directing Me
by LittleWolf95
Summary: After a spur of the moment, reaction lands Catra in Bright Moon and at the mercy of Queen Angella things began to change for her (although for better or worse Catra isn't so sure). But is there really a place for the ex-second-in-command at Brightmoon? And why does Queen Angella want her alone to explore a ruined city in the north?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own Nothing.**

She had thought that she had been over Adora, that she no longer cared about her. That if she died, it wouldn't mean a thing.

But as soon as Catra had seen She-Ra become overwhelmed during the skirmish it was like time had stopped and she had gone into autopilot.

Catra didn't even flinch as she cut down one of the soldiers that she had been commanding not even minutes prior, her mind basically going into tunnel vision and her focus stayed solely on Adora.

"Captain!"

She heard a voice call, although this only knelt on the ground by the blonde's nearly unconscious form.

"Adora! Just hang in there, your friends will be here any minute." Catra found herself saying as her burning eyes drifted across the various wounds that littered the warrior princess's body, some which Catra herself knew she had caused.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry...just hold on. You're tougher than this, just fight."

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Everything hurt.

That was the first thought that Adora had upon waking up in the familiar surroundings of Bright Moon's infirmary.

What happened? The last thing I remember is that net...thing. How did I get here? But that would mean that we won...but how? I failed I...

Her brain raced as she struggled to sit up.

"Whoa, easy Adora! You got hurt pretty bad out there."

Adora hadn't even noticed that Glimmer had been sitting beside her bed until she had spoken.

"Glimmer, what happened? I just remember I fell...and...I'm sorry." she began, only to feel hands gently pushing her back onto the bed.

"Just rest Adora. It's okay. We won...Barely and mostly because without a coherent leader they are really hopeless." the shorter girl responded, smirking slightly as she glanced toward the door although when Adora glanced in that direction she saw nothing but the opening that led to the hallway.

"So Catra...Did she..." Adora couldn't bring herself to finish that sentence.

She was supposed to let go, but with so much history that was easier said than done.

"Did we kill her? No. No one would want to after what she did." Glimmer answered, rolling her eyes before adding "I may have hit her in the face with a spark ball, however."

What she did? What was Glimmer talking about?

"What did she do? You're making no sense." Adora commented, earning a chuckle.

"Trust me, nothing that happened today makes any sense. But we'll talk more about it in the morning...after you've rested."

The next morning Adora expected to see anyone or anything but a familiar poof of brown hair leaned against the foot of her bed, obviously asleep.

"Catra?" she barely managed to say, earning an ear twitch in response.

Why is she here?

"Catra!" she repeated louder, startling the magi-cat out of her sleep and causing every bit of her hair to stand on end.

"Who...Wha...? Adora, you're awake!"

Adora winced as Catra's voice hit a higher tone.

"Yeah, and you're going to make me go deaf. What the heck happened anyway? I mean you're in Bright Moon and Glimmer said..." Adora replied as she moved to sit up, only to see Catra's ears go flat.

"I almost killed you, Adora."

Catra felt bile rise into her throat as she said the words and found herself unable to look anywhere near her former friend.

Why did I even stick around? I should have left after I made sure that she was okay.!

"I saw you collapse and I...I know what I said...I know what I've done but...I...I never meant any bit of it... I..."

She stumbled over her words, knowing that if this conversation had happened during different circumstances she wouldn't have been able to bring out the words.

"Catra, I should have let you come when you wanted to follow me...I shouldn't have just left. I never meant to make you feel like you were expendable...that I was better than you because I never thought that..." Adora said, cutting her off as she moved to get out of bed.

Only to be stopped by a strong grip on her arm.

"Don't. Just don't okay? We both made decisions that probably...okay wasn't...the smartest in the world but it's over. You won, I'm in Bright Moon...and after turning on my own troops to save She-Ra, I can't return to the Horde so I may as wells stick around."


	2. Chapter 2

"If this is about feeling like a fish out of water..."

Catra knew it was useless, that Adora wouldn't understand any of her reasoning for wanting to leave Bright-Moon nor would she understand anything about how Catra felt as though she was caught in some kind of weird destiny knot that would not let her out of Adora's shadow.

"It's not," Catra snapped, pausing to sigh before turning toward the blonde "Look, after all the shit that has happened with us through the years I think it would be best if I went my own way for a while, I mean it's _**not**_ like I won't be back. I just need to figure some stuff out before I settle down _**anywhere**_."

She half expected an argument since she had basically implied she would be staying there two weeks before.

But that was said before Catra had realized just how much of the past that shew as holding onto. How she had compared herself to Adora for years—despite the girl being the closest thing she had to a friend—and how that had turned into nothing but pure envy.

Envy that had almost gotten both of them killed countless times.

But how can you tell someone that being around them just wouldn't be healthy for either of you at the moment? After all, Catra couldn't trust herself not to fall into the same kind of patterns, which would only result in her hurting Adora again.

Sighing the feline turned back toward the few items she had acquired for the trip, mentally preparing herself for whatever reaction she got.

"Where are you going?"

Adora asked after a few minutes of thinking carefully about what she should say—especially since she knew that Catra could become defensive at the drop of a hat.

"A ruined city up north called Bright-Moon. Queen Angella said that there is an artifact or _something_ located there that could aid the rebellion so as the most expendable person...I'm getting sent—Not that I mind if it means avoiding half of the princesses."

Catra wasn't expecting Adora to do or say much of anything after that, let alone expect to feel her hand touch her shoulder.

"Be careful. That's a long trip and who knows _what_ is out there."

"Don't worry, I'll be back as soon as I figure out what the hell it is that I'm supposed to find."

 _It can't be too important since they sent the person who tried to destroy their entire kingdom and almost killed their eight-foot-tall Amazonian powerhouse._ Catra thought as she glanced down at the map again, tail flicking every so often as she walked.

 _Hopefully Half-Moon is at least interesting because **walking** all the way there is not my idea of fun. Then again, I **did** almost get them killed...multiple times. I'm lucky I **can** walk._

Sighing she thought back to the conversation that she had held with Queen Angella a few days prior. It had been the first time since her makeshift trial that she had really interacted with the woman and she still didn't know what had brought on the whole thing.

 _I need to prove myself to them...Prove that I'm not just being a spy or be some kind of double-crosser. I know that this has to be some kind of test...If it's not some kind of set up for rebellion soldiers to kill me. Easier to do that out of the earshot or visual range of your secret weapon._

Shaking her head as if to clear that thought from it she tried to focus on the little information she had on the former Half-Moon.

It had been an rather peaceful kingdom that had formed with the combining of many tribes that had came together under the rule of a Queen called C'yra of D'riluth, who was more Warrior than Queen but fair and cunning.

It reminded Catra too much of Hordak for her liking.

After all, how could someone be fair if they took over many different tribes like a tyrant?

 _Well I guess I'll figure it out once I get there...Who would have thought that I'd be interested in some kind of ancient history crap. Am I really getting that bored at Bright-Moon Castle?_

"Why did you send her after something so important? She probably will take it back to the Horde!" Glimmer practically yelled at her mother who seemed oddly calm about this whole thing.

"She wont. That much I am certain although rather or not she returns here...It will be up to her." Angella answered, confusing the teenager enough to get her to stop yelling.

"What do you mean? I thought you said this wasn't a form of banishment?" Adora—who had been standing by the door—spoke up, earning a sigh.

"It isn't. She will just find answers that I am sure that the girl has needed for a long while...answers that no one but perhaps Hordak knew." Angella answered, glancing between the two girls before sighing and standing.

"Adora, you grew up with Catra. Did you ever see anyone else who was of the same species?" Angella questioned, watching as the blonde's brow scrunched for a few minute before Adora shook her head.

"No. Not in the barracks we were in anyway." Adora finally answered "we both always wondered about that."

"Catra is of a race called the Magi-Cats, they are the ones who once lived in the now ruined kingdom of Half-Moon before The Horde attacked them. As a matter of fact both Micah and I were great friends with Queen C'yra the second during the first Alliance." Angella elaborated, a thoughtful look coming across her face as if she was remembering something, although whatever it was—she didn't voice it.

"Just what did the Magi-Cat's have that could help the rebellion anyway? I mean they _had_ a rune-stone but it was either stolen by the horde or destroyed during the attack." Glimmer asked, earning a sigh.

"I was not suppose to tell anyone this information however I am willing to trust you two to keep this between us three." Angella began, leveling both of them with a look before continuing, "Queen C'yra managed to evacuate some of the Magi-Cat's into an underground bunker of some sort when they saw the horde approaching. The rune-stone nor the Magi-Cat's vanished, although it served it's purpose of protecting them _and_ their power from falling into the Horde's clutches."


	3. Chapter 3

It was a complete three day's journey to the ruins of what had once been Half-moon as as Catra stood on the hillside that overlooked those ruined walls and aged rubble she couldn't help but wonder what kind of grand city this place had once been when it was full of life and not being reclaimed by nature.

There were still charred places that stained what was left of the buildings and cobbled pavement and still left an oily smell about the air that seemed overstimulate her sense of smell as she grew closer. Catra could see the etching along the walls of some of the buildings, artistic engravings that seemed to make up some sort of symbol, although it was unrecognizable due to damage.

And for once she wished that she could have seen the place before The Horde had gotten there because even if Bright-Moon gave off an aura of elegance, it was easy to imagine that this place too held its own air of beauty.

Catra began to notice many things as she made her way around the rubble, most of which made an uneasy feeling form in the pit of her stomach.

She had known that The Horde was twisted, corrupt even but seeing this place with it's half burned photographs and remains of children's toys made her—for the first time—wish that she _had left_ that night with Adora. After all, how many places had she left in such a state just because of orders or in a wild goose chase in search for rune stones and first one's tech?

How many lives did she unknowingly claim? How many children did she leave to the hands of fate? How many would grow up in similar environments as she did because of her stupid pride? Her mind raced as she walked, what-ifs playing over and over in her mind until she felt as though she could scream.

But _then_ as she drew near to a metal strip that ran along the ground, partially covered by the cobble, a strange sensation began to come over her. Almost like a static charge running through her fur, but this was deeper.

And she recognized it imminently for what it was.

 _Magic._

But what could be a source of magic in a ruined city? After all The Horde would have done a sweep of the whole area in search for the rune stone and _anything_ that could help their cause was considered fair game.

 _Well at least whatever it is doesn't zap the shit out of me like the black garnet did...Or what Shadow Weaver used to do whenever she was highly ticked off about something trivial. I wonder if **this** is the thing that Angella wanted me to bring back? _

She thought as she sniffed, hoping to catch the sent of _anything_ that could help her.

What she _didn't_ expect was the faint smell of something cooking that seemed to drift up around the metal.

"What in the name of Enternia?" she muttered, mentally preparing herself for anything as she continued her search, that was until her foot caught on something beneath the rubble the ground.

"What the—Is that a door?" She muttered as she sat up, brushing away the trash only to find a heavy metal door.

 _Okay, that's odd. I wonder what is down there_? She couldn't help but wonder as she struggled to open the trap door, only to land on her back when it finally opened, sending her staggering backward. She let out an annoyed groan before she stood and slowly made her way down the steep steps.

The first thing she noticed was the large statues of that seemed to loom along the hallway, their marble muzzles twisted into snarls at whoever walked past.

 _What the hell? What is down here? A mausoleum?_

She couldn't help but wonder as she continued, however suddenly her ears pricked up, the sound of laughter echoing from somewhere in the darkness.

 _Okay either this place is haunted or there are people down here...and I don't know which one I would rather find._ She thought because although she no longer wore the insignia of The Horde she couldn't help but be concerned that she would be recognized as the second in command.

Suddenly a voice boomed out, echoing across the enclosed area and causing Catra's ears to press flat against her hair in an attempt to block out the noise.

"So _**you're**_ the one that Angela said was coming. I half expected someone older...Since she mentioned that Hordak had appointed _you_ as his second."

Even in the darkness Catra could make out a single, glowing yellow eye approaching her—then as her eyes adjusted further to the darkness she could make out the figure of a somewhat taller, stocky built, female.

Unsure rather or not she was offended by the comment or not, Catra tried to wrap her head around everything that she was now hearing.

Just who was this woman?

"Who are you and If Angella knew you were here why did she send me?" Catra began, only to earn a scoff.

"I am Queen Cyra and Yes, Angella knew I was here and told me she was sending you here. Tell me, would you have came if you had expected people here? People who nearly lost _everything_ thanks to the tyranny that you worked for?" The mysterious female said in a tone that clearly held a level of detestation that Catra instinctively flinched back.

Queen Cyra seemed to regard the younger girl for a moment, her eye narrowing slightly before she let out a sigh and with a twitch of her head she added:

"Come, There is a celebration going on currently...If you wish to learn of your culture and people...Now would probably be as good a time as any."

As they walked out of the dark tunnel and into the more open, Catra couldn't help but let out a hiss in the sudden bright light—which earned a chuckle from the Queen.

After she was able to see once again she really took in the sights around her. The bunker—for a lack of a better term—was very similar to the set up of that of The Horde, with the faint hum of machines polluting the air. However, what really stood out was the queen herself.

She was tall and well built—if not slightly bulky—with dark gold fur that covered her body as well as wild, short, dark red hair. Her eyes were what caught Catra off-guard because although her right eye was yellow, her left—which was covered by a scar—was a stark white.

Queen Cyra seemed to notice where Catra's gaze had lingered, although she didn't say anything just turned away.

"I must go monitor the contest...You are welcome to look around and join the festivities...although I would advise you not to mention your former ties...A lot of people were lost due to this war and some may not be as...nondiscriminatory. _..._ as I."

 _talk about speaking the obvious. Ugh...Even Queen Angella doesn't act like she has a icicle up her ass like this woman does._ Catra couldn't help but think before she turned and headed toward the sounds of the festivities.

She couldn't help but wonder what the point of this whole thing was. Wasn't these sort of things usually a celebration of something? These people had lost everything, so what reasons did they have to celebrate? She couldn't help but wonder although soon her attention drifted to a older man, who was sitting in the middle of a circle of children, magic dancing from his fingers and taking shapes of various creatures as he used it to illustrate whatever stories he was telling.

And despite her best efforts, Catra couldn't help but be captivated by it—even if she did think it was a waste of energy and power. But the tale that the old mage was telling seemed to be about an everyday hero, about a boy who defeated some form of great evil despite not having anything but his wits.

The kind of story that captivated the attention of children, that Catra was sure of. After all, wasn't that similar to the propaganda that had been available for kids in the fright zone? Of great captains and soldiers who over came evil princesses?

Except this didn't seem to be propaganda at all, no, this just seemed to be a form of entertainment like the books that Glimmer had convinced Adora to read. Pointless words with empty meanings.

Yet she found herself wanting to hear how this ended—Much to her embarrassment.

Later that evening Catra found herself being drawn to a different section of the sanctuary, a large dug out area that was surrounded by railing so that onlookers could watch the happenings down below because inside the pit was a form of obstacle course that was surrounded by water. Rope hung from metal pipes and bars that were twisted about to form a mass that rose above the pit and toward the ceiling where a giant bell hung.

 _What is this?_ Catra wondered, as she leaned lazily against the railing as shouts and chants came from the viewing boxes above her. _Some kind of Contest...Perhaps of speed or strength._ Thought as she watched a young brown furred female fire a blast at a much older, male.

 _Well that seems fair, obviously the magic users are going to be stronger than non-magical._ She thought sarcastically. However she watched as the male allowed himself to get hit, only to use the rope he had grabbed to keep from hitting the water to throw himself at his opponent, knocking her down a few meters.

As she watched the contest play out before her she couldn't help but be amazed, especially since these people—this tribe—didn't seem separated at all by their power or lack thereof. Both the mages and the non-magical citizens competed, using brain over brawn despite any physical differences.

One—like the Queen—had one eye, she noticed but it didn't slow him down as he climbed his way up the skeletal network of metal and rope, dodging blasts of magic from his rival who seemed just as determined to ring that bell.

Even children participated and no one seemed to bat an eye—even if they were more keen on goofing around.

And this confused her.

Wasn't this for honor or pride or something? Why were they allowing children to use it as some form of plaything?

She was so lost in thought, trying to make sense of everything that she didn't even notice that someone had walked up behind her until he spoke.

"Cultural shock?"

She whirled around to face the speaker, seeing a tall young man who was wearing a silver helmet that was very similar to hers. His fur was stark white and was covered completely by black stripes and his sapphire blue eyes sparked with a silent fire.

Catra stiffened, unsure of what to expect but still she answered

"Kinda. I don't get it, What is the point of all of this?" She responded, earning a chuckle as he leaned against the railing overlooking the pit.

"Aunt Cyra said you'd be clueless but I didn't think you know absolutely nothing. This festival is one of our oldest and was born out of the rivalry between the Mages and the-then known-Lesser of our race. The winner in those days was always rewarded handsomely but nowadays it's usually just for fun or to showboat against a rival. Wanna try it? With your thin build, you're probably as quick as a whip."

As he asked this he turned toward her, his amber eyes seeming to flash with a form of mischief-and a challenge.

"Fine, but don't start whining when I kick your ass." She retorted, earning a laugh.

"It'll take more than a former Horde soldier to beat me."

This response caught Catra by surprise. _He knew? But how? She had made sure to remove all insignia from her clothing?_ However before she could ask he leaped over the railing.

"Come on! We don't have all night."


	4. Chapter 4

"are you sure that Queen Angella of Bright-Moon knows what she is talking about?"

Queen Cyra glanced over at the tawny form of her Majordomo, flicking an ear before turning her attention back toward the contest below her, eye narrowing.

"Nahuel, Angella would not have us chasing our tails with this if she did not have suspicion and while I _do_ _ **not**_ hold out hope...I do say that this whole thing is odd to say the least." the queen responded simply

"And what do you want us to do? Allow this renegade to access our source of power?" Nahuel asked, earning a smirk.

"No." Cyra's lips twisted into a arrogant smile "We let Amur test her... **if** he believes we can trust her, then we will see if we can test Angella's theory."

Catra found this contest to be much like the games she and Adora had played as children as she raced her way toward the top, dodging the blasts of energy that this tiger-like male sent her way. It was difficult to get a good foot hold at times but the rope helped that, creating friction and propelling her forward.

"You're fast. But see if you can match this!" he jeered before sending a wave of magic her way, the energy crackling around her like electricity although she managed to ignore it with a low growl.

"You think _that_ is what it'll take to get me to give up?" she retorted, smirking as she once again jolted forward, landing a kick against his side although he managed to keep himself from falling.

"I was dealing with shit like _that_ since I was a kid!"

His eyes widened at that before he charged again, eyes practically glowing with magic as he aimed a ball of sparks at her stomach, only for her to once again dodge.

"You're good. But I'm going to stop going easy on you."

The Queen smirked a bit as she watched the two spar.

"Even without magic she seems to be evenly matched." she commented, earning a scoff.

"Please, Amur is playing around. If he really wanted to do anything he would knock that milk-sop into the pools.' Nahuel commented, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Insults are a sign of a weak mind. Isn't that what you tell your students?" she retorted, ears flickering slightly as she watched the show below her as the pair rushed toward the top, pushing each other back.

"She runs on pure instinct...Not on brains. That is going to be her downfall." Queen Cyra commented after a few minutes of just observing the two younger cats.

"I still think your nephew is going to win...He does have Tora's brain _and_ brawn after all." Nahuel commented, earning a sigh.

"Perhaps although I do recall there being _**one**_ vast difference between the pair of them and that is that Amur is cocksure and when he becomes frustrated his form becomes sloppy." she reminded him just as a splash was heard.

Catra growled as she drug herself out of the cold waters, muttering all the while as someone handed her a towel.

"You know, I'd hate to actually fight you...If I didn't notice that weak spot in the ropes you probably would have beat me."

she glared up at the young man, taking note of the lack of arrogance.

"You got lucky." She muttered before adding "Who are you anyway? You never told me."

"I'm Amur of the tribe of Valmere, and you are?" he answered lazily

"Catra."

Tora kept a close watch on the newcomer, sticking close to the shadows and watching her interact with those around her—or rather the lack of interaction.

Every once in a while she would stop to view something or try another, but other than that she rarely spoke to anyone, Her ears always seemed to point forward even, never relaxing as if she expected to find herself in danger of some kind.

 _Diffidently had military training._ He concluded as he silently followed her, pushing his way through the crowds.

Catra wasn't sure what she was feeling. Confused? Betrayed? Angry? Whatever it was she wasn't sure that she had a name for it. These people seemed to be able to find the light even in their own gloomy existence—an existence that was caused by the very people she had worked for.

 _Why didn't I just leave with Adora when she asked the first time? Hell, why didn't I go behind her that night when she went after that damn sword?_ She wondered as she followed the tunnels back out into the crisp night air.

This had been the same thing she had been willing to do to Bright-Moon. The same thing that she had done to many of the villages she had invaded in the name of Hordak.

Walking around the area for the second time in two day she tried to find _anything_ similar to the ruins that had been described to her by Angella.

 _What is so important about this place anyway? Angella obviously knew that these people existed. Talk about leading someone on a wild goose chase. First I basically meet a dead relic that Queen Glitter-bomb knew wasn't dead and Now I'm probably chasing my own tail trying to find something that was probably a ruse to get me out here._ She thought as she edged toward the steps that she had traveled down the previous day.

Taking a seat under the stone arc she closed her eyes, trying to calm the raging thoughts.

She didn't know how long that she had sat there, eyes scanning across the former city scape when her eyes landed on what she had at first thought was a moss covered rock...at least until she notice the glint of metal beneath the vines.

 _What the..._ she began, slowly making her way over to the odd formation, only to discover that it was a building or at least something akin to a cellar since it ran back into the hillside.

Slowly walking into the room she began to notice the statues—which was similar to those that decorated the main entrance—however there was one difference.

These statues didn't all look the same.

Some had a golden crown like object carved into their head while others had either a sword or staff engraved on the base about their paws.

 _What is this place?_ She wondered as she began to notice that there were also names etched into the base.

 _Memorials...Are these the people who died during the final stand of Half-Moon?_

As she continued through the cavern she began to notice that it wasn't only statues featuring adults but also a line of highly decorated, smaller statues.

And suddenly she felt sick.

 _Kids...These are the graves of children that died in the war._

She couldn't even begin to describe the feeling that came over her. This had been what she had been doing, what she had been willing to do in order to gain power and it made her sick. How many graves so similar to these were caused by her own order? Why had it taken almost losing Adora—the closest thing to a confident that she had ever had—to make her realize what she was doing?

That she had began to slowly turn into Shadow Weaver.

She didn't know how long that she had stood there, her eyes stinging as these sort of thoughts ran through her mind. She thought about leaving, just running and never looking back. But what would that solve? Nothing but mark her as a coward and Catra was no coward.

Was she?

She wasn't so sure anymore.

Deciding to head back toward the fortress she decided that it would have been for the best to confront the queen for answers, after all, wasn't that half the reason that Angella had sent Catra here to begin with? For answers?

However she had no idea where anything was and despite the fact that the festivities were still going strong—the queen was nowhere to be seen.

"She says her name is Catra and she had no idea where any of the former settlements were. I mean, who the blazes doesn't teach their soldiers basic geography?" Amur said as he stood by the private chambers of the queen, earning a sigh.

"why learn of the lands of a supposedly dead race?" Queen Cyra responded simply, earning a scoff from her nephew.

"Hordak is still an idiot for not teaching them where anything was! Like seriously, how stupid would it be if your whole army got lost because they couldn't even figure out where the forests Caroban of begin and where the Tecu desert begins? Catra said they only covered the location of Tecu and they just called it the great dunes of the north!" Amur stated, crossing his arms across his chest.

"They either are erasing the fact that the Magi-cat's ever existed in the first place or they were afraid that by teaching the truth that Catra would become curious about who or rather what she was." The queen said, brow furrowing as she turned her full attention toward the young tiger.

"I want you to continue to watch her. If she proves not to be deceitful then we will allow her to be influenced by the rune-stone and if Queen Angella's theory is correct then we will have all the answers we need." Cyra said softly, earning a nod.

"Of course. But if it is true, what then?" Amur questioned, earning a sigh.

"We only need answers and I dare say that after what she saw today, Catra needs them too. What happens after is up to her." Queen Cyra answered before standing "Now if you will excuse me, I need to go make sure that the throne room is secure since we can not trust this Catra Of Bright-Moon just yet."


	5. Chapter 5

"You look like hell."

That was _**not**_ something that Catra had expected to hear coming from the mouth of royalty, let alone a queen yet that was the first words that Queen Cyra said to her the next morning in the dining hall.

"Couldn't sleep." She barely managed to answer, grabbing some kind of fruit from a bowl on the table.

She remained quite for a while, focusing on eating. The table was set with all sorts of dishes, some which she had never saw before, but despite how tempting the smell was, she stuck with things she could easily recognize, after all the last thing she wanted to do was to offend the people that could zap her into oblivion.

"A letter came for you from Bright-Moon. I had the courier to leave it in your room." Queen Cyra said after a few minutes, taking note of how even that didn't seem to grab Catra's attention, as though the teenager's mind was a million miles away.

 _What could have her so preoccupied?_

The queen wondered, brow furrowing as she watched Catra wordlessly get up from the table and leave the dining hall.

"do you want me to follow her?" Amur asked, moving to get up however Cyra just pushed him back down.

"No, I'll speak with her. Whatever _this_ is needs a more _conscientious_ approach than you are capable of using." She retorted with a sigh as she glanced down at the contents of her goblet, closing her eyes for a moment.

 _And this is when I miss Tora the most...He was always better at this sort of thing than I was._

Catra wasn't surprised that the letter was from Adora, who seemed to be both concerned and curious about what she had found and Catra wondered just how much she could really tell her. Would Angella tell them that the magi-cats were still living?

Her eyes narrowing when she read about the defeat and capture of one of the Horde's battalions during a skirmish near Mysticor—wherever that was—But most of it was mostly a bunch of questions that were sometimes worded strangely since Adora seemed to be writing in a rush.

But what could she say? That the people of Half-Moon where a peaceful bunch who were ruled by a warrior queen? That she had experienced some kind of celebration and saw first hand what the Horde had done to people? That despite always knowing that the Horde hurt innocent people she hadn't realized just how much they were willing to do until she had saw it in the form of a memorial chamber?

Letting out a growl of frustration Catra crumbled the letter into a ball, tossing it at the nearest wall.

"Well either that was bad news or whatever is wrong with you is far worse than you want to let on."

Catra felt heat crawl into her face as she turned toward the voice, ready to tell them to mind their own business until she saw that it was the queen who was leaning against the door-frame.

"I'm not leading an attack on Half-moon if that's what you're worried about." Catra snapped, deflating slightly as soon as the words left her mouth, her mind going back to that section of child size graves she had saw the previous night.

"I never said you were. I merely said something is bothering you." Queen Cyra responded, picking up the discarded letter and placing it on a table near the bed before adding:

"You do yourself no good by keeping whatever this it that is eating at you to yourself. unexpressed emotion never really dies, it just continues to grow until it explodes in more destructive ways."

Before she could even think about it, Catra growled.

"And how would you know? Why do you even care? I am literally the one thing you should hate and yet by some twisted game between you and Angella I'm still alive!"

Cyra's eyes widened slightly at that and she seemed to be at a loss for words before she let out a humorless chuckle.

"You think that this is some kind of mind game that we agreed upon to torture you? I assure you, if that were our intention then you would not need be in Half-Moon for that and unlike The Horde, that kind of thing is not thought highly of."

She could understand the girl's confusion and irritation. She had been sent to find something that didn't necessarily exist only to discover that she had been lied to for most of her life—rather that she had been the only thing like her around or that she was a part of a dead race. But this was also more than that and Cyra could see it written across Catra's face.

"I was Hordak's second in command...I ordered attacks and lead half of them. I left many places in similar states as your kingdom...I almost killed Angella...Hell, I almost killed the person I cared about most in the world on multiple occasions! Yet both of you seem to sprout this 'faith' and 'hope' bullshit that will probably one day blow up in your damn faces." Catra said suddenly after several minutes of silence.

And then it clicked for Cyra.

"Yes but _something_ you did must have given Angella the idea that you _could_ have some good in you because she does not trust easily...Especially not after the death of Micah." Cyra began, her voice losing all traces of emotion as memories of that day began to play through her mind.

"The only reason she didn't throw me in prison or worse is because of _She-Ra._ If Adora wasn't some kind of super soldier that the rebellion needed and if she still wasn't some kind of sentimental fool..." Catra argued although she trailed off as she thought back to a conversation she had previously with the Queen after one of the long, tiring days of rebuilding she had been _volunteered_ for.

" _ **Bow told me what happened that day...and how you refused to leave even when you knew that you would probably be captured if you stayed. Loyalty is not something I would have assumed was taught in the Fright Zone.**_ "

"Besides it was Bow who convinced her to let me stay...Not anything I did."

Cyra didn't believe that, especially since she _knew_ how stubborn and paranoid that Angella could be but she said nothing.

"Then tell me Catra, what happened that made you defect? You were of a rank of power after all." Cyra questioned, earning a growl.

"I didn't want to completely lose the _one person_ who treated me like something more than a tool, alright? I knew Hordak just needed someone who could do his dirty work. I may have had a few friends left in the fright zone but there was only _one_ person who knew everything about me. She was the reason I stayed in the fright zone for all those years anyway. Because if she was there I knew everything would be alright."

 _Now that is a surprise...She worked for the Horde yet she completely hated them?_ Cyra wondered, confused by this statement of Catra's.

"You would have left? Why?" she prompted.

"Because they were fucking brutal! No one knows what it was like growing up inside that compound, never having _anyone_ to give a crap about you. To be looked at like you were some kind of _monster._ Adora was the only person who ever saw me as anything but that weird cat-girl who couldn't do shit right. From the first day that Hordak left me in Shadow Weaver's care after he found me abandoned...I was just a little kid and she took one look at me and basically demanded to know why he had brought me there...That I would be nothing but a reliability."

As she spoke, Catra began to shake as repressed emotion began to burst to the surface, every insult and every ounce of abuse that had been directed at her replaying over before her mind's eye until that was all she could focus on.

 _Useless._

 _Freak._

 _No wonder your parents left you, you're weaker than Kyle!_

 _Lazy._

 _Reliability_

The words just wouldn't stop repeating in her mind.

"But I couldn't leave Adora...She would have been devastated if I had left but yet it felt as though she saw me as nothing but a parasite, sucking her dry because it wasn't even what Shadow Weaver was doing to me that made her turn on them...It was a search party out hunting for her...a search party that happened to destroy a village. I never understood why it took that...Until last night."

She confessed, almost completely sobbing by this point as she recalled that seemingly endless chamber of tombstones.

The queen wasn't sure what to do or say then, after all she had always been better at talking to adults besides children—or in this case, a distressed teenager—but she also knew she couldn't just _ignore_ the girl. Not when she was like this.

"What happened last night?" she prompted as she slowly put a hand on the girl's shoulder, feeling her instinctively bristle at the touch—although she surprisingly didn't pull away.

"I was searching for that thing that Angella was talking about and I found _something_...Catacombs I think...and it made me realize...That there very well could be places like that in other places because of _me._ Adora understood just what exactly was expected of her in the Horde and wanted no part of it when I couldn't even understand the bigger picture. How many kids did _I_ put in the ground? How many ended up in situations where they felt _unwanted_ because of _me?"_

As she said this, she completely broke down.

Cyra let her be for a few minutes—although she never removed her hand nor left her side.

"We do not have defined by the things we did or didn't do in the past. There are some who are so controlled by their regret that they never move on because after all is said and done...The past is just words once it happens and we can toss those stories to the side and figure out what we will _**be**_ not what _**was**_."


	6. Chapter 6

Adora had been sleeping soundly when the sudden sound of someone teliporting into her room jolted her to consciousness.

"Glimmer? What are you doing in my room at...What time is it anyway?" She asked, only to have a letter shoved in her face.

"From Catra...Unsurprisingly three weeks late." Glimmer said, thrusting an envelope into her hands before adding "I wouldn't have woke you up but I know how worried you were getting about her."

That got Adora's attention.

"I was starting to think she either went back to the Horde or ran away completely." she replied, opening the letter.

 _ **Adora,**_

 _ **I got your other letters but I had no idea what I was supposed to even say. As you probably know by now is that I am staying in Half-Moon. Don't tell anyone I said this but the Queen here is kind of an ass...Not a Shadow Weaver level of ass but more like a Octavia level of ass but the one who is worse is this guy called Amur...Who I am tempted with setting you up with just because he's just as annoying as you.**_

 _ **Jokes aside, I realize now why you left the Horde in the first place. I guess I never saw the bigger picture until after I came here and saw just what it meant to be in the horde...What I very well may have caused and I'm glad that you left before you got something like that on your conscious. There's a lot we need to talk about that I don't think I can express in writing.**_

 _ **Feel free to write back if you want because I'm not sure how long I'll be here because Queen Cyra insisted that I learn how to think like a magi-cat besides just running on instinct like I always did. The only downside to that is that I don't have any actual magic...Which would have been cool because I've seen some of the guys here blow shit up but I'll take what I can get. Hopefully everything is going well in Bright-Moon now that you you are using captives for extra muscle...Who's idea was that? Glimmers or yours? Because I know Angella didn't think of that.**_

 _ **Speaking of her, Tell Queen Angella that I'm going to get her back for sending me off to search for something that didn't exist. She could have just ordered me to go to half moon...I'm pretty sure that Cyra would have probably waylaid me at some point. Anyway Anu is waiting on me in the training chambers and I'm like five minutes late already.**_

 _ **Write to you soon.**_

 _ **Your friend hopefully,**_

 _ **Catra**_

"She says she is training with the other magi-cats...But this also doesn't sound like Catra or at least not the Catra I know. I mean, look at this—she seems a lot more open in this and she hasn't just _said_ anything that was bothering her since we were kids." Adora stated, earning a shrug from Glimmer.

"I remember the queen of the Magi-cat's from the alliance meetings back when my dad was alive and even if she was a bit...blunt...if anyone can get through to someone it's her." Glimmer replied, however this didn't seem to brighten Adora's mood any.

"Maybe. I just hope that this isn't all too much for Catra, I mean...She's always been the kind of person who thought with her emotions besides her brain." Adora stated in response after several minutes of just staring at the letter.

"Stop worrying...She'll be fine. Now are you going to write her back or are you just going to sit there staring at the letter like it's going to suddenly bite you or something?

Catra growled as she spit blood, glaring over at the older female who was smirking down at her.

"What's wrong Kitten? Can't take a little pain? I didn't even hit you that hard." the soldier—whom Catra remembered being called Pisica—jeered.

"You forget...I grew up in the Fright Zone. I've had a lot worse than a split lip." she retorted, standing and picking up the blunt, heavy sword that she had been wielding a few seconds prior.

"I have to say, you're stronger than I gave you credit for. I mean not many people can counter my attacks like that."

Unknown to the pair of teenagers below them, Queen Cyra sat crouched on a high beam, eyes narrowed as she watched their sparring session.

"You honestly think that this is _her_? How can you be so sure?" she whispered to the elderly man at her side, tail swaying slightly as she thought over that possibility.

"She's the only Magi-cat that has ever turned up, she grew up in the horde and she says that Hordak gave her that mask after she beat her first major exam. Explain to me why Hordak would give a lesser cat a mask that they could not ever use?" Anu responded just as softly, using his single arm and motioning toward Catra.

"besides, she appears to be a tigon...How many of _those_ do you know exist? I can name the living ones off the top of my head and none of them are old enough to have a child her age." the old man responded, earning a sigh.

"Do not tell her any of this...She is just getting used to thinking in ways different than what she was taught, there's no need to overwhelm her with any of this theory nonsense." Cyra ordered in that same low voice.

"You will need to allow her near the stone, Cyra. You know that you are just as curious as the rest of the kingdom." Anu said, his tone holding no fear at the prospect of disrespecting the queen.

"I will not do so as of now...I will give her time to gain confidence in her own power—and her alone. She needs to learn to be confident in herself before she learns to put trust into others else she is always going to feel as though she is not good."

Catra was out of breath by the time that the timer went off, her whole body quivering from exertion since she wasn't all that used to fighting at such a high speed.

"you going to be okay?" Pisica questioned as she took the training equipment toward the shelves that was across the room, earning a slight groan.

"Just tired...I swear between you and Queen pain in the ass I'm going to be built like a fright-zone tank at this point." Catra retorted, not noticing Cyra had leaped from her hiding spot above until the queen spoke.

"Oh I'm the pain in the ass? I'm not the one who got into a fist fight with an captain because they insulted you." Cyra said, trying to hide her amusement as she watched every hair on Catra's body stand on end.

"Crap...Shit...How long have you been in here?" Catra retorted, turning around only to earn an arched brow.

"Long enough to know you need to go to a healer and get a shower and some rest. Running yourself down isn't going to help anything." Cyra answered, resting a hand on Catra's shoulder before adding:

'If you are not too tired tonight, I would like for you to come with me to the surface."

This caught Catra off-guard—since when had Cyra invited her to _anything_ besides a lesson about something or another—Usually only a sparring match or something similar.

"You sure that's a good idea? I mean isn't Amur the one who usually patrols with you?" Catra questioned, following her although the only answer she got was a shrug.

Queen Cyra was waiting outside the trap door for her when she came out of the healers, leaning against the wall as she waited.

"What's up? I mean you never call me out here." Catra asked as soon as she saw the woman who just sighed.

"take this as a test of loyalty...I don't know that this wont blow up in my face _**but**_ I can hope that it doesn't." Cyra answered simply before motioning her to follow her. "How much has Anu covered in your classes?" she asked, earning a sigh.

"The parts that I don't zone out on? I know about the war and about how your grandmother was the one who brought everything together...although your mother was the first to rule the combined tribes." Catra answered, nearly falling on her face as she tripped over a stray vine.

"So you know that my husband, Tora, was killed trying to protect the citizens trapped between the palace and the shelters. Did Anu explain to you about the belief system that we have here?" Cyra asked, earning a groan.

"Yeah, reincarnation and all of that. I don't need a history lesson, I already have to listen to _that_ for an half hour every day." Catra retorted, earning a light growl—although Cyra didn't make any move that could be considered threatening.

"Catra, there is one thing that you need to understand rather or not you choose to follow our belief system and that is that even in what seems to be the darkest time of your life...that there is _always_ a sliver of light somewhere. Something to hold on to, something to _fight_ for." Cyra responded, pausing alongside what was left of teal walls.

"I lost _everything_ that day. My family, many of my friends, and very nearly my life. Do you think I even wanted to live? Everything I loved was gone and I was powerless against it." Cyra said, pressing a hand to the surface of the wall.

Catra put a hand on the woman's shoulder then, ears nearly flat against her head at this point.

"You did the best you could though, I mean you can't blame yourself for all of that." she stated, earning a sigh.

"I didn't feel like my best was enough so I took the survivors and with the Miners, metal smiths and mages I came up with a solution...To hide the rest away from the world so that they may not endure the same pain I did. But there is no way to run from what happened, the memories...The _pain_. Not even when I avoided what little was left of my family because I didn't want to be reminded of those most precious to me." Cyra continued, practically ignoring Catra by that point.

A heavy silence passed over them at that before the queen spoke again, turning toward Catra with an almost accusing gaze which caused Catra to brace herself for whatever attack—verbal or physical—that would come.

"Catra, I know you have not been eating or sleeping outside enough to push it through the day. Yes, you have things that you regret...But so does everyone...I regret not making sure my family was safe before I headed into battle. But that does not mean one should go out of their way to torture themselves." The queen stated before sighing, her tone dropping it's edge.

"You have been trying to get stronger because you want to stop the senselessness...That is a start but do you think you help things by not taking time for your body's needs?"

Catra sighed then and turned her back to the woman, unable to meet her gaze.

"If you just brought me out here to yell at me..." Catra began, stopping when she felt a hand grip her shoulder.

"I'm not yelling. You just need a dose of reality. If you want to prove that person who lead raids and caused destruction wasn't you...Start by showing grace and patience toward others then once you are use to not answering conflict with your fists you can start worrying about the more physical aspect of it because good people are capable of horrible things. You just need to show people that there _is_ good inside you." Cyra retorted before sighing.

"The reason I wanted you out here was so I could show you something...and hopefully get you to relax. The sentinel have agreed to keep watch for us so it should be safe." she stated, gingerly pushing the teen along.

Catra's eyes widened as they went farther into the forest that surrounded what was once the city walls—a forest that seemed to be aglow with magic and the rustle above them made her feel as if they were being watched, even if Cyra didn't seem alarmed.

"uh...where are we going?"

Catra asked, hating how frail her voice sounded.

"This place is called the forests of Caroban and farther in there is ancient ruins that once was the village of Valmere...There is an spring there that I was thinking of visiting and since it relaxes most people...I assumed it would do you some good since you never seem to relax."

 _Valmere, that's where Amur's family was from...which means that Cyra's husband was also from here._ Catra realized as she followed the Queen, who seemed lost in thought suddenly.

"What is up with the statues everywhere?" Catra finally asked as they walked pass a pair of what seemed to be tigers.

"That is right, you've never witnessed a transformation yet." Cyra replied as she turned toward her, smirking "Those of our people who prove themselves can shape-shift with special magical talismans. This makes them faster and stronger than some other races."

"That's...actually really cool. This was the royal family house wasn't it?" she asked, indicating the golden decoration.

"Yes, this was actually a part of the vacation home that Tora insisted on keeping even after he married me. My family and I spent a lot of time here before the war." Cyra explained, causing Catra to instantly go quiet.

"Sorry I keep bringing things up. No one else seems to be willing to answer my questions, not even Anu and he's the only one of your advisers that actually treat me like a person." Catra said softly as they paused in a large hallway.

"Do not apologize about asking things. This is just as much your history as it is mine or Anu's. Do you think that any of the great rebels would have gotten anywhere if they didn't question the way things were? Hell, that's what Catullus the wise was _known_ for!"

And like that the tension was broken between them and Catra felt herself relax—an unspoken but very clear message passing between them.

 _She understands...and she trusts me enough to tell me this._

They soon reached an set of steps that lead toward a basement type area and to Catra's surprise, a shallow pool with glowing green water.

"What in the name of Mut is this place?" She asked, pausing at the door.

"The water has a special charm about it...Don't worry, I wouldn't bring you here if it would harm you." Cyra responded before shrugging out of her long jacket, revealing a multitude of scars along her bare arms.

Catra felt herself staring and sighed, shaking herself from her thoughts before heading toward the water.

Unbuckling the belt that held together the vest that she had chosen, Catra paused as if realizing something.

"Not to sound ungrateful but why does all the clothes that you had provided for me have this green arrow pattern along the chest? Isn't this the mark of like the upper class warriors?" She asked as she slid the garment off, eyes scanning over the Magi-cat's symbol which decorated the buckle.

"They were the only thing available in your size."

Both of them knew this was a lie but Catra didn't feel like pressing the subject as she slid into the water—fully clothed save for the vest.

"You know, for someone who is supposedly so wise you are a terrible liar." she stated instead, earning a face full of water from the Queen.

"I'm a terrible liar? Well at least I know how to keep my Ears and Tail from giving away everything that I'm feeling."


	7. Chapter 7

Catra hated kids, well not _hated,_ more like annoyed by but that had been a part of her job in the Fright Zone—training the young cadets—but when she was told by Cyra that she would be helping Amur and Anu with that task she couldn't help but be shocked.

She hadn't been in Half-Moon for that long so why did the queen trust her to do this? She had _never_ interacted with the kids in the compound before and she knew next to nothing about how the Magi-cats trained children.

Yet here she was, surrounded by a group of five kids ranging between the ages of seven and eight years old trying to help Amur come up with a training plan for that day—which seemed to be harder than either of them had thought.

"I know! Anu is always talking about what it was like training in the trees! We could go to the surface for a few hours! I mean you're a general Amur and Anu is the strongest of our mages!" one boy—who Catra thought she remembered as being introduced as Macka—said, causing the tiger-like magi-cat to draw in a sharp breath.

"I don't think that's a good idea kids...I mean Nahuel and everyone else agreed that it was still too dangerous for anyone but sentry to be out on the surface." Amur responded, earning a scoff from Catra.

"The Horde doesn't see anything of use in this area. Besides how else are they going to learn what the real world is like unless they see it? I'm sorry but your training simulators only can cover so much." Catra retorted, earning a groan from Amur.

"You're trying to get my Aunt to kill us aren't you? First you convinced me to let you train with my lightclaw, then you convinced me to let you try mulled wine. Now this? You seriously do _not_ want to see that woman mad." Amur stated, although before anyone could say anything else another voice spoke up.

"Actually Catra _may_ be right. If it ever comes to it they will need to know how to get around in the outside world. To be able to think critically in situations that are strange."

They turned to see none other than Anu standing there, leaning heavily on his staff.

"What? You're agreeing with the renegade?" Amur retorted, earning a dirty look from Catra.

"In short, yes." the elder agreed, smiling slightly as he added "Unless _you_ are too afraid to go to the surface without the guard's protection Amur."

Catra couldn't help but laugh at the slack jawed look that crossed Amur's face.

"Me afraid? You've gotta be kidding me Master Anu! I'm from one of the oldest lines of mages!" He retorted, although the old man only arched a brow at that.

"Yes and what does _that_ have to do with the price of pears?"

"pay attention to your footing. Trust me when I say that it's easy to trip." Catra instructed as she dodged a half-aimed blow from one of the students, smirking a bit as Amur managed to face-plant onto the dirt.

"See? Even Mr. bad ass over there doesn't know how to stand up properly." she stated, motioning over to him, which caused all their charges to laugh.

Cyra had been going over reports from the sentry when Nahuel burst into her chambers, ears pinned back and breathing hard.

"I told you that _outsider_ shouldn't have been left in charge of the training! She is going to lead them to their deaths!" he exclaimed, earning an narrow-eyed look from the queen who turned her attention toward him.

"For one that _"outsider"_ has a name. For two what are you talking about?" the queen retorted

"The surface, your majesty! She took them to the surface and she has been sending a lot of letters out with Anuk...I would not doubt if this was not a ambush of some kind."

Cyra felt herself stiffen at that, however she also knew that she couldn't make snap judgments.

"Amur and Anu are with her. I am sure that things will be fine but if you are so _sure_ that they are in danger...I shall go see what they are up to myself." she answered before leaving him standing in middle of the room—still fuming.

 _Surely that girl would not betray us. Not after everything._ Cyra thought as she slid her own mask over her face, allowing the transformation to come over her. Then like a rocket she took off. _And what if she has? Will I be capable to do anything?_

As she neared the forest that ran alongside the former city boarders she heard it—laughter.

And she froze.

"Come on, you look stupid. Besides _that_ wont teach anyone anything except maybe how to land on their head."

"Well how _else_ should we teach them how to handle this level of hight?" Amur's voice stated, earning a scoff.

"We're not even _that_ high! I climbed _buildings_ taller than this as a _child_! Besides they're kids! Pretty sure this whole thing is more of an adventure than a training exercise by this point." Catra's voice retorted and Cyra could practically hear her rolling her eyes.

Pushing up the mask and returning to her bipedal form, Cyra took to the trees, using the foliage to hide any trace of her presence as she searched for the group.

When she found them she couldn't help but smirk.

 _Well...Seems like the Fright Zone did teach her something unexpected._ Cyra thought as she watched Catra try to explain some kind of manuver to one of the kids that they were watching over. _Perhaps through her own experiences she learned what **not** to do. _

"She has been here three weeks and yet she seems to adapted well."

Cyra jolted at the sudden voice beside her although she relaxed a bit when she realized that it was just Anu.

"Seems as though Nahuel was wrong. He came into my chambers basically demanding her blood as a traitor." Cyra whispered back, earning a groan from the elderly mage.

"Nahuel acts as though he was the only person who lost someone during the war. He forgets that some of us lost _everything_ but our lives that day." Anu stated before turning an hardened green gaze toward his queen.

"You must begin testing that theory for both of your sake's. I know Nahuel would rather you forget Queen Angella's theory but we must remember...Angella lost _a lot_ during the war as well and she would not suggest something that would cause you increased pain." he spoke, earning a sigh.

"How would one bring that sort of thing up Anu? You are older and wiser than any of us...So you tell me...how do we go about this?" Cyra retorted, only for him to sigh.

"You are the only one besides Amur that has truly given her a chance to prove herself. Your council treats her as if she is a monster waiting for an chance to attack, the civilians are afraid that she will betray us. You are the only one who really knows how and when it would be best to tell her about what Angella suspected." he answered calmly.

"She told me things that happened to her in the Fright Zone...Things that have affected her deeply. I don't want to add to that sort of pain, Anu." Cyra confessed earning a nod.

"what do you think will hurt her more Cyra? The secrets and lies _or_ an honest mistake?"

Cyra didn't return to the compound until later that night, having spent most of the evening with Anu however what she found when she had came into the main hall of the compound was nothing like she expected.

Catra stood half crouched, ready to either dodge or attack despite the fact that blood covered her magenta shirt. Amur was transformed, snarling at the three larger cats that were approaching them.

"What by the power of Catullus's Roar is going on here?" Cyra demanded, causing a buzz of conversation to began amongst the civilian onlookers.

"Demeti, Put those three in oubliette until I get the full story and get these two to the infirmary. Can someone please tell me what in the abyss is going on?" she continued, practically snarling.

"As soon as we came in those three attacked us." Amur responded as he shifted back.

"I believe you. Just go get checked out...I'll take care of the rest here. Magic can do more damage internally than externally and I don't need you two dying on me."


	8. Chapter 8

"I tried to get between them but there is only so much a single person can do and since the others were out hunting I was out numbered." Amur told Cyra as he glanced into the small room where Catra lay.

"Anu can handle the trials...I trust his judgment above all others." Cyra responded with a nod as she leaned against the wall "I never expected anyone to straight up attack her. I may can understand the suspecion they have _but_ never should they have let their emotions cloud their judgment."

Amur's eyes narrowed at this "Stop blaming yourself for this...You didn't order the attack. and I have _never_ seen you actaully lose your temper like that...I mean I am pretty sure that you broke his ribs with that punch." Amur stated, earning a sigh from the queen.

"Amur, go tell Anu the full extent of her injuries...Then have Anuk come here to take a message to Angella from Bright-moon. I think I need her advice with what my next move should be." Cyra ordered softly although her nephew didn't offer to move.

"You sure you're going to hold up?" he questioned, earning a nod.

Cyra watched as the healers went to work, their magic filling the room with an eerie glow as odd specs of what could only be described as red electricity periodically jolted around the girl's body.

"What is causing that?" she asked one of the healers who was nearest to her.

"There's some kind of charm placed over her...I can't describe it any other way but I've never seen anything like this in all of my cases." the healer's answer caught Cyra off guard.

"So you can't undo it? Do you know what kind of charm it could be?" Cyra asked, eyes narrowing as she watched as Catra's face suddenly contorted as though she was in pain.

"No and No. I'll send a report to Anu and the elder mages, maybe they would know? To bad your mother isn't here...She would have known."

Cyra flinched at that but sighed.

"Yeah but unlike her, I never cared much about visiting Mysticor...and without an ounce of magic I'd be useless there anyway." Cyra answered before adding "Is the bleeding slowing?"

As soon as she got so much as a nod of affirmation Cyra turned and left the room, expression twisting into a snarl.

Catra didn't recognize where she was, although it seemed familiar—a long dark blue hallway with tiled flooring. She could smell something floral nearby, something else that seemed so familiar even if she could not give it a name.

 _Where_ am I? She wondered, glancing around—noticing that the walls seemed to grow larger and longer suddenly. _What is this place? How did I get here?_ Moving along the hall she found a room that stood open—decorated with what seemed to be ancient furniture and bookshelves that towered over her.

"What are you doing in here? I swear you're curiosity is going to get you in trouble one of these days." A male voice—Deep but mellow laughed from behind her, however as she went to turn around she felt a wave of pain shoot through her body.

Sitting bolt upright, hissing at the pain the sensation of something stabbing into her stomach Catra glared around the room, only to relax when the memories of what had happened earlier that day came flooding back.

"That was one weird dream." she muttered, falling back onto the overly soft bed as she let out a huff of annoyance "Weirder than my usual ones."

 _what was that place anyway? And who was that man?_ She wondered, sighing before shoving the pillow over her face, muffling the groan that came from her throat. _Now I am even more confused...First I have nightmares as a kid that I could never remember when I woke up—although I would be sobbing and now I dream of places I've never even lay eyes on._ _I think I need to tell one of these healers to check me for brain damage._

She wasn't sure how long she had lay there, turning that strange dream over and over again in her mind when she heard a voice coming from the hall.

"Did the spells work?"

Her ears perked up at that, making her wonder just what it was that the healers had done to her while she was sleeping. _Maybe it's their fault I had such a crazy dream to begin with?_ She thought, althought that theory died when she heard another voice respond.

"Yes, she will be pretty sore for the next few days because of the extent of the bleeding _but_ she's out of danger and everything has pretty much healed."

 _that must be the healer...and that first voice sounded like Cyra—sort of—although her voice sounds kinda strained._ Catra thought, expecting not to hear anything more but to her surprise the door to her room opened.

"I see you're awake. How are you feeling?"

Catra tried to sit up, only to give up because her torso still hurt too much.

"Like I got hit by a drifter at full speed...I thought their spells were supposed to heal me, not leave me unable to move." she grumbled, earning a chuckle from the woman who came to take a seat beside the bed.

"You took quite the beating today, I think it's a good thing you're too sore to move since there's no chance of you re-injuring yourself." Cyra retorted, earning a growl.

"Oh great...not only did one dumb decision mark me as a traitor but now I'm stuck on bed arrest." Catra retorted only to hear Cyra let out a snort.

"You're not marked as a traitor, dumb-ass. Only _**I**_ can do that and I literally watched you and Amur for a while...You seem to have a lot more patience with children than you do anyone else." Cyra retorted, her tone holding a bit of a teasing tone before she added more seriously:

"What those three did this evening was unwarranted and against everything that we as a people stand for and I assure you, they will be judged and judged harshly for their decisions tonight."

A heavy silence manifested itself into the room after that—the events weighing heavily on both of them for different reasons.

 _Why is she willing to defend me? I am literally no one but a former horde soldier._ Catra wondered, not daring to just outright ask since she wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer.

 _It couldn't be because they actually care._

"Do you realize how fucking badly that would hurt her? By the roar Anu, can you people see my point here for once? Do you think I don't want to know?"

Catra awoke to hearing Cyra saying—or rather hissing.

"You think that she doesn't question everything? That she doesn't wonder of such things? Besides I am sure she is bright enough to figure out what a fitz is and do you honestly want her to think you, of all people didn't want her to know?" Anu's voice stated in a tone that Catra—despite the fact that she was sure she had nearly driven the man crazy during lessons—had never heard him use.

"you think I haven't thought about that? I've heard enough...I'll tell her in time...When she is well enough to deal with it. Last thing I need is to send her into shock _or_ cause her to hurt herself in some way." Cyra growled out before turning and coming back into the room only to freeze when she noticed that Catra was awake.

"You heard that I presume." Cyra said, her voice adopting an emotionless tone as she sank back down into the chair that Catra assumed she had occupied the whole night.

"Yeah I did and what is he talking about? What is **everybody** keeping from me? I'm not an idiot...I know that there has always been something up—especially since people keep throwing around the word scion whenever they think I can't hear? I mean...I have no idea what the hell that means _but..._ " she trailed off then because a hand suddenly ran through her hair.

"I promise I'll tell you everything when your injuries are healed. I just am not sure about _how_ to even tell you so at least give me _that_ much time to figure it out."

Catra wasn't sure what stunned her more, the touch or the almost pleading tone that Cyra's voice took on.

"Fine. At least then I can leave if I need to." Catra muttered in response, earning a sigh.


	9. Chapter 9

She didn't know what hurt worse; the fact that she had thought that these people—albeit few—could have cared about her or that whatever secret that they had been keeping from her that Angella was in on it. After all, didn't the eternal goddess always spout that nonsense about honesty and all that crap?

Sitting on the hillside overlooking the ruined city, Catra wrapped her tail around herself as she tried to process what had happened in the course of a few weeks—especially since she had confronted Queen Cyra about the secrets that the Magi-cats and Queen Angella had been keeping from her the Queen of Magi-cats had basically been avoiding her.

And that had been a week ago.

Catra wasn't sure _what_ she should do now because if she had been honest with herself she wanted nothing more but to run—to leave everything behind and start over. But what could she do? She was still too weak to do anything much more than walk _slowly_ anywhere and besides, she knew that the Queen would just have her drug back.

Sighing she fell back onto the grass and glared up at the sky, trying to find anything to think about besides the heavy feeling that had filled her heart since overhearing that whole thing.

 _This is what I get for thinking that they had pure intentions...For thinking that I would fit in here...That I even had a chance. I should have just stayed in the Fright Zone, at least then I wouldn't have to deal with this shit._ She thought, feeling the all too familiar pressure pushing at the backs of her eyes at that thought.

"Catra? Jeez, are you trying to re-injure yourself?"

Sitting up with a wince she turned her attention to the speaker, ears pinning back as she sent a hiss his way.

"What do _you_ want? Did your Aunt send you to fetch me as if I am some _dog._ " Catra demanded, earning a sigh from Amur who took a step back.

"Uh...No. I came to tell you that those three imbeciles that attacked you have been stripped of their ranks and put to work on the mills." he answered before taking a seat beside of the younger teen before adding "What's up between you and Cyra?"

Catra let out a huff, pulling her knees to her chest as she contemplated rather or not to tell him the truth.

"Your Aunt is a fucking lair just like Queen Angella and everyone else. I bet you know whatever their stupid plan was too, don't you? I bet that's why you started trying to be my friend or whatever." Catra snapped, hating herself for how her voice broke as she said this.

"What? That is _**not**_ what's going on! Cyra may have been keeping secrets but she didn't lie to you! Catra this whole situation is a lot more complex than you're thinking it is." Amur argued, earning a glare.

"I'm going to give you ten seconds to get out of my sight before I make you regret ever meeting me." she threatened, earning a sigh as he stood up.

"Fine...But you need the full story before you go pitching a bitch fit." he retorted before heading back toward the compound.

 _He thinks he knows everything just because he is some kind of royalty...Just because he's basically a **prince** or some shit. What does he know about anything? He doesn't know how it feels to feel so fucking lost because every time you **want** to impress someone they either have alternative motives. Why is it every time I care about someone that they either hate me for no reason at all or leave me? What is wrong with me? What did I do to deserve this crap my whole life?_

She dug her claws into the earth, trying—and failing—to keep the tears at bay.

 _Why do I even try anymore? I should have just left everything behind and headed somewhere far away from this stupid place_. She thought bitterly, forcing herself to stand.

Queen Cyra was up to her neck in reports and supply runs—not to mention letters from the few other kingdoms that knew about the Magi-cats survival and asking for help with the alliance. So when Amur burst into the throne room, she knew something was wrong.

"Catra left...She's headed toward the eastern wood and the sentry say she still seems to be in pain." he stated, earning a growl of frustration from Cyra.

"okay, heir presumptive, I'll go get her since evidently the sentinel can't do their fucking jobs." Cyra muttered, pushing her mask down over her face before bolting off in her fully feline form.

Amur stood there, mouth slightly open as he stared after her.

"O-Kay...she is diffidently stressed out...What exactly was she working on Master Kefira?" he said turning toward the newly appointed Majordomo who just chuckled.

"I'll help you if you explain just what in mut's name that was about. I have _never_ seen miss calm and collected react like that." she responded, earning a groan.

"Where do I start? The fact that Catra is a former horde commander or the theory that Queen Angella came up with?" Amur retorted.

"Wait Angella from the royal house of Bright-Moon? How the hell did a horde commander get involved with her? Now you _have_ to tell me the whole thing."

Catra sighed as she leaned up against a tree, using the pain that raced through her body as a distraction from the wave of emotion that she couldn't seem to block out no matter how hard she tried.

Letting out a yell of frustration she swiped at the bark, wincing as the movement sent another wave of pain through her.

"You know you're just going to hurt yourself if you keep doing that."

Catra turned, glaring up at Cyra—who was crouched in the lowest branch of one of the neighboring trees.

"What do _**you**_ want? Finally decide to talk to me after ignoring my existence for a week after I caught you plotting whatever the hell it is?" she snapped, earning a sigh from the queen who leaped down and landed in front of her.

"I wasn't ignoring you Catra...Damn it did you think I was? I was busy with the trials, finding someone who knew enough to be my Majordomo since Anu didn't want the position _and_ dealing with the stupid supply storage." Cyra responded before sitting down beside of the teenager.

"Yeah right. You've been weird ever since I got out of medical bay! I mean I _know_ you're busy and all but you were avoiding me like the plague any time our paths crossed and I want to know _**why."**_ Catra practically demanded.

 _What did I do?_

She wanted to add but wouldn't.

"Because I don't even _know_ where to begin, Catra. I meant to tell you about this whole mess _before_ now but I just couldn't bring myself to do so—especially since it was clear that you've been let down your whole life. I _know_ I went about everything the wrong way and I'm sorry for that but How on earth does one even bring up things that no one is even _sure_ about?"

Catra couldn't help but scoff at that.

"Do you think it was any easier for me? That it didn't _hurt_ to know that everyone was whispering one way or another about me? To suddenly hear the _one_ person who seemed to take an genuine interest in you talking about you like you're some kind of freak?" Catra replied, turning away from the woman so that she couldn't see the tears that once again was pooling in her eyes.

"No, I don't. I didn't know others were whispering about this but that wasn't an excuse...and I should have known. I will explain everything and if you still wish to leave, I will have Angella send someone to get you." Cyra answered honestly.

Catra felt the hand that came to rest on her arm but she didn't pull away—or rather couldn't bring herself to. After all since _when_ did anyone else outside of Scorpia and Adora ever reach for her without the intent to hurt her?

 _Stop being a sentimental idiot Catra_. She was mentally screaming at herself but she found that she couldn't really help it. _She will just be like Shadow Weaver and drain you completely dry emotionally._ Each thing that she kept telling herself started to sound weaker than the previous one—lame reasoning to _not_ listen to the woman who had basically spent the last few weeks teaching her everything.

"Fine, I'll come back but I can't promise I'll stay." Catra retorted, trying to sound aloof but failing as her voice cracked.

"that's all I am asking of you...To hear me out." Cyra responded softly.

Catra expected to be lead into the council room or her own chambers. she wasn't expecting to lead into the Throne room—which up until that point had been forbidden to her for whatever reason—and she paused outside of the magically sealed door.

"once inside I want you to approach the Rune Stone...before I explain anything I want to be sure...and the only way to do that is to see if you are capable of holding the transformation or not because since you are still young and haven't trained properly for it...If you don't have any connection to the Rune Stone it will do nothing." Cyra stated, ignoring the stares that she was getting from Amur and her Majordomo.


	10. Chapter 10

Every fiber of her being seemed to be screaming at her to stop, to remember the painful zap that had followed touching the black garnet all those years ago. However this time it wasn't a stupid dare of children, nor was it a forbidden curiosity that compelled her. No, this time it was under the critical eye of a monarch that seemed to want to prove something to Catra and whatever that was required her to stop being a baby and touch the stone.

After all, the woman had every chance to hurt her in the month that she had stayed there and hadn't outside of one odd accident during training that involved a broken staff and a jagged cut along Catra's upper arm.

Yet here she was, afraid to touch a stupid rock like some kind of child.

Her hand shook as she reached toward the glowing orange stone which oddly felt warm as she grew nearer to it. She paused when her hand was barely an inch from the surface, trying to mentally brace herself for the pain that she was sure was going to consume her as soon as she made contact.

 _Stop being a wimp. You've been beaten and worse, almost killed your best friend on more than one occasion and nearly committed regicide._ She scolded herself mentally before pressing her hand against the smooth, warm surface.

 _Why doesn't it hurt?_

Was the first question that entered her mind however no sooner did she think that, her vision clouded over, images flashing through her mind and it felt as if she was no longer in the throne room and no longer in her own body but seeing through the eyes of someone else.

 _ **Her heart was pounding in her ears almost as loudly as the sound of explosions going off nearby as she was shoved into a small cellar.**_

" _ **Stay here until your mother or I come to get you. They need my help and it's too dangerous to try to go to the main shelter. " a tall tiger-coated Magi-cat said before he drew the sword from his side which zapped to life with red energy.**_

 _ **She could feel herself saying something but she couldn't hear herself over the sounds of shouting.**_

 _ **Making herself small in the small enclosure she squeezed her eyes shut, hands pressed tightly over her ears to try to block out the awful noises around her—although this proved to be in vain as the smell of smoke and blood began to overtake her senses.**_

" _ **Sire! They got past the main defense! How soon until Bright-Moon gets here?"**_

she instantly recognized that voice as Anu

" _ **They should get here soon! We'll just have to hold off Hordak's troops until then!"**_

and that's when it hit her exactly what she was seeing...The fall of Half-Moon.

" _ **What about Hunga's sky patrol? They should have been here by now!"**_

" _ **Looks like they aren't coming!"**_

 _ **She didn't know how long she sat there, listening to this whole thing—unable to move or speak—however suddenly she heard a yell and a curse—followed by the shout of an all too familiar name.**_

 _ **Tora.**_

 _ **Opening her eyes she saw that the man who had shoved her into the small vent had fallen, the front of his armor quickly covering with blood that seeped from a hole near the chest.**_

Cyra watched as Catra collapsed, unsure what was exactly happening or _why_ it was happening. But whatever it was couldn't be good if the teenager's face was anything to go by. Her expression was tortured, tears streaming down her face as she seemed to be panting for breath.

"What's going on?" Amur asked, almost afraid to approach the quivering girl.

"I don't know." Cyra answered honestly, brow furrowed "Go get Anu...If anyone understands magic its him."

 _ **The scene suddenly changed and she found herself alone in what was basically a cage, her whole body hurt and she couldn't seem to stop crying.**_

" _ **The mask is proof that she is dead but what do we do with her whelp?" A voice that Catra didn't recognize asked. **_

" _ **With the proper training and that mask the child will make a good addition to our cause. Take her to Shadow Weaver, she will know what to do."**_

"Are you okay? What happened? You just suddenly yelled out and collapsed." Queen Cyra began from where she was knelt beside of her—calling her attention toward her.

And that was when it all made sense to her. Tora had been her father's name so that gave the very real possibility that her _mother_ was very well still alive.

And currently kneeling beside her.

And she didn't really know how she felt about that. Especially in that moment with all the things that was running through her mind, memories that had long been repressed. Memories of an actaully _happy_ time in her life...A time before all the chaos and lies.

But as she turned toward Queen Cyra she felt as though she was going to be sick as another wave of emotion hit her.

"You know you queens are all the same...with the fucking secrets." She panted as she stumbled to her feet, tail twitching with irritation although she wasn't _angry_ exactly. She wasn't sure if she would want to have that conversation either if she had been in the Queen's place.

But it did hurt and she really couldn't stop herself from feeling the betrayal at the withheld secrets.

"What do you mean?" The Queen responded, earning a humorless chuckle.

"When were you going to tell me who I _am?_ Who _you_ are? Do you even know what it is like finding out your the one thing that you were trained to _hate_ your whole life?" Catra responded, not even answering the question as she reached up and removed her mask, closing her eyes as she ran a hand over the smooth surface.

"Hordak told me this had once belonged to the queen of Magi-Cat's and that it would give me incredible power. I never could figure out what that meant or why he had it but I figured he had taken her prisoner or something...But I was there at Half-Moon the day it fell...I remember everything...I even remember Shadow Weaver wiping my memory and how _painful_ that was." Her mouth became oddly dry as she turned her attention back toward the Queen, her angry expression crumbling as she asked in a low voice:

"Where you ever going to tell me that you were my mother?"


	11. Chapter 11

Catra felt as if her very soul was being ripped in to pieces at this point.

 _Why didn't she tell me?_ She couldn't help but wonder _was it because she was ashamed that I was a horde soldier? Is it because she only did this as a favor to settle Angella—and maybe her own—curiosities?_

Catra hated that she could remember the _simpler,_ blocked memories now. Of times spent in the gardens of a palace—still too young to join her cousins and other local children but still too old to just be expected to sit inside all day.

"What happened?"

She heard Anu's voice ask but she didn't dare open her eyes, because if she did she knew that she would probably start crying again and she didn't want to suddenly appear weak. Especially right now.

"Someone put a block on her memories...and touching the stone made her remember everything." Cyra answered, her own tone shaky.

She blocked out the rest of their conversation, not wanting to hear it as she struggled to breath around the pressure that seemed to be filling her chest.

 _All that training...Those nights she would just offer to talk with me. Did she do that because she cared or because she felt like it was some kind of duty?_ She wondered, feeling herself shaking as she contemplated this whole month. _Did she do it to try to get me to trust her? Is that **how** she got me to trust her so easily? _

She felt her stomach lurch suddenly and she winced in pain since she still seemed to have some deep bruising along her torso.

She felt a hand gingerly rest against her shoulder, a sign of affection that she had became almost accustom to over the last few weeks but now it felt as though another weight had been lay on her.

"Don't touch me!" She snapped, swiping at the offending appendage to knock it off of her.

She didn't noticed that she had her claws extended until she heard the sharp hiss and could smell blood and it seemed like time seemed to stop.

"Okay, I deserved that." Cyra muttered, flinching as she examined the set of long gashes along her arm and wrist before calmly ripping the bottom of the cape that she had on, using it to make a improvised bandage. "you three...Leave us. She may be more willing to talk if you aren't here."

Catra couldn't help but have flashbacks of privates _conversations_ between her and Shadow Weaver and she froze, half expecting some kind of retaliation once the others had left.

She wasn't expecting the queen to just let out a sigh once they were alone.

"Look, I _know_ I screwed up. I know I should have told you what we expected _sooner_...Hell I should have probably let Angella tell you more and honestly I'm surprised she didn't go over my head on that." she began, running her non-injured hand through her wild, short hair.

"I know you are angry and hurt about all of this and I can't imagine what else you must be feeling. I meant to tell you before this could happen...I just wasn't sure how to do it. How do you tell someone something like that when you're not even positiveabout it? The only way we would have known for sure is if you could interact with the stone without aid." Cyra stated, hoping that she could summon up enough words in her brain to at least explain herself properly.

"I don't want your apology! You literally treated me better than _anyone_ here besides Tora and Anu when you really _shouldn't_ have and then here I find out that you keep basically playing these mind games with me? Why didn't you just tell me?" Catra snapped, her voice breaking as she removed the mask for what felt like the first time since she got it.

 _I am so stupid. I should have known something was up when I noticed that most of the people of any rank here had one of these things._

"I always wondered _what_ I was and _why_ I was just left to die...I couldn't remember anything and I was told by Shadow Weaver that it was because of hypothermia or something similar. So coming here...Finding that the race I came from was alive...I wanted answers but I didn't know where to look for them. You could have saved me a lot of sleepless nights if you had just told me."

Cyra sighed, closing her eyes as she leaned back onto her hands.

"I thought you were dead. When I came to I was covered in my own blood and I found that only a handful of my soldiers were living. Anu had lost an arm, Tora had died and there were bodies left _burned_ by the west wall. Bodies of people of all ages. I found some fabric that was covered in your blood and scent...If I had known that you had been taken...I would have fought to get you back." Cyra replied, her voice breaking and for the first time that night, Catra realized just how this whole thing must have made the woman feel.

A heavy silence fell over them then, neither of them sure what to say after that and it felt as though it would choke Catra.

"I need to get some air." she said eventually, slowly getting up and walking toward the door. Pausing only to glance back and say "I didn't mean to hurt you...Guess I still need to work on that control you kept preaching about."

Cyra couldn't help but smirk as she watched the teenager leave, knowing that was probably as close to an apology she was going to get—and more than she was expecting to begin with.

"Are you okay? She didn't try anything did she?" Amur demanded as soon as Cyra walked into the main hall, earning a scoff.

"No and if you know what is good for you, you won't go picking fights. She's under a lot of emotional stress right now. It's merely a flesh-wound to begin with, nothing to get your hackles up over." the queen retorted, sending him a look to shut him up when he started to say something in response.

"I need to go clear my mind...If anyone asks for me...I'm busy."


	12. Chapter 12

"She's busy. Besides I don't know why you would even _want_ to talk to her after what you did. She has done nothing but been nice to you since you got here and yet you _attacked_ her. Most people didn't even _want_ you here."

The words stung but she was _**not**_ letting Amur know that.

"Shut up and get out of my way. I managed to shove your face in the dirt when you were six and I'm not afraid to do it again." Catra retorted, shoving past him.

"When she takes your head off don't blame me!" he called after her, earning a snort.

"noted."

The first thing that Catra noticed when she walked into the stadium was that Cyra was weilding a light claw, its red arcs of electricity dancing across the floor as she went through the motions. She wasn't wearing her usual long sleeves or the cape she had on before but a sleeveless blue shirt with dark blue pants, both which showed the way her muscle rippled with each movement.

And suddenly Catra was glad that she wasn't fighting against her.

Standing out of the way, Catra watched her for some time before she eventually spoke up.

"No wonder Amur said you'd take my head off. You really zone out with that thing." She said, earning a slight chuckle as the woman turned toward her.

"I knew you were standing there, I'm not dumb enough to let myself get distracted when I have a weapon in my hand as for Amur, he can be a bit...Protective." Cyra retorted as she moved to put the sword away.

She could feel Catra's eyes on her, as if waiting for something—although Cyra wasn't sure what. _Does she expect me to banish her over a mere scratch? What did that boy say to her out there?_

"Out with it, I can feel you staring at me back there." she finally said, turning her attention back toward Catra who seemed interested in anything but looking at her.

"I'm sorry."

It was so low that even the sensitive hearing of a magi-cat could barely hear it and Cyra was surprised to hear it.

"I know and it's okay. I'd been more worried if you _had_ taken that whole thing well." the queen retorted as she came over, taking note of the way that the younger girl flinched away from her.

"I'm not going to hit your or whatever is going on in that head of yours. This isn't the fright zone." Cyra said with a sigh as she reached out, running her knuckles along Catra's cheek—to which she pulled away.

"There really isn't much of a definition for the word personal space here is there?" Catra grumbled, glancing away as heat crawled into her face.

"There is but not when someone you care about looks like they want to bolt." Cyra retorted before adding "and before you start _assuming_ again I started caring about you _before_ I was sure about anything. One of the things the Magi-cat's hold to value is _loyalty_ and you won _that_ on your third day here...when you proved that you had a good heart underneath all those layers of yours."

"I sort of thought that you never told me because I had been in the Horde."

The words left Catra's mouth before she could stop them and she didn't dare make eye contact with her mother then.

"If I still thought you were tied with the Horde I wouldn't have had you starting helping with the self defense and survival lessons. I know it may not have seemed like it but I do _trust_ you...Even if you _do_ still have a temper." Cyra said, the last part coming out teasingly as she lightly flicked the teenager with her tail, earning what she assumed was _supposed_ to be a glare—if Catra wasn't trying to fight the hint of a smile off her face.

"You know this doesn't change a thing between us so don't expect me to get sappy or whatever." Catra retorted, earning a chuckle.

"Didn't expect you to. Just don't expect me to start going easy on you!" Cyra retorted, earning a scoff.

"oh come on, I can totally kick your ass if I wanted to! I just go easy on you because you're old!" Catra retorted, only to find herself into a playful headlock a second later.

"Call me that again and I _will_ make you regret it. Remember, I can get into _any_ room in this place and I know enough about plumbing and duct work that I could mess with everything in your chambers." Cyra threatened as she let Catra go, although she did loosely drape her arm around Catra's shoulders and for once, Catra didn't pull away.


	13. Chapter 13

Cyra had to suppress a yawn as she shifted through the reports for what seemed to her, like the fourth time that week. It was too early to deal with _anything_ but it was also her responsibility, so here she was sitting at her desk at the crack of dawn, reading over the same facts that she had _already_ stored to memory twice that week.

And it seemed like her Majordomo felt about this whole thing just like she did.

"Maybe I should shove some of this off on Catra since we now know for sure. That way nobody will have to get up before the sun." the queen muttered after shoving a stack of papers into a drawer.

"So the rumors are true. Is that what Amur was complaining about last night?" Kefira questioned from where she stood, flipping through a book.

Cyra glanced up before rolling her eyes.

"No, he was probably complaining about how it was wrong that I let her by with scratching me...while mind you, she was dealing with suppressed memories _and_ finding out that everyone was keeping secrets." Cyra retorted, earning a arched brow from the young woman before her.

"You're kidding. He seriously thinks _that_ should phase you? I mean it was a long time ago but I remember you taking on three opponents at once during the summer celebrations and that girl is a pack of dynamite with a short fuse...I haven't talked to her much but after some of the things I've heard..." The young woman retorted

Cyra couldn't help but chuckle at that, knowing _exactly_ what some of those incidents were about.

"In her defense, she _did_ apologize _._ You have to realize the kid did grow up in the Fright Zone and there is a stark difference between a typical upbringing and that of a child soldier." The Queen said before adding "Speaking of rumors Kefira, What is this rumor that you and Amur were saw sneaking out late the other night?"

Watching the twenty-year-old's expression go from wide eyed to beet red in a matter of seconds caused the Queen to laugh.

"Relax _._ He's just a year younger than you and I don't try to tell anyone who they can or can not date. My mother may have had traditional values but _I_ am not her. If I was do you think I would have married someone from a lesser family?"

Just as Kefira was about to say something in response both of them nearly jolted out of their skins at the sudden sound of the an siren sounding.

"Could it be the Horde?"

"I sure hope not."

Catra jumped out of bed, her fur standing on end as she headed into the hall.

"What's going on?" She asked the nearest person, earning a stammered response.

"There has been someone spotted coming toward us."

Catra closed her eyes, trying to calm her nerves before she bolted toward the exit.

"Catra! Where are you going? You're crazy if you're going out there!" Amur's voice stated from somewhere in the crowd, earning a scoff.

"I am _not_ letting them find this place. If it's the Horde, chances are they are looking for me and if it's not...They won't matter then will they?" Catra retorted, sliding the mask across her eyes for the first time.

The change happened almost instantly, a dull roar in her ears and the feeling of muscles stretching.

 _That should have hurt but I guess that's part of the magic._ She thought as she dashed off, ignoring any protests that she come back.

 _I will not watch people die because of me. Not anymore._


	14. Chapter 14

Catra knew that something was wrong when she smelled blood and burned flesh, although she didn't know what exactly was wrong until she was almost directly upon the scent and her blood froze in her veins—that was until it began to boil.

 _What happened? I haven't heard of another battle since that a week ago._ She wondered, suppressing a growl in the back of her throat as she tried to tread as quietly as possible toward the pair and even from a distance she could see the stark contrast of almost black bruising that littered olive skin.

And she felt sick.

 _Why would anyone do this? What could she had possibly done to deserve—no, no one deserves to be treated like that._ She thought bitterly as she tried to focus her attention on the conversation and not on how badly beaten that the girl was.

"We should be safe in this forest tonight then we'll go to the nearest village tomorrow."

 _She's probably hurt far worse than that if her scent is anything to go by. She needs help **now.**_ Catra knew, but how could she go about this without causing a scene?

But she _had_ to do something.

 _My Mom is gonna kill me but there is a high possibility that she will die if I don't intervene—Wait, did I just call Cyra—You know what, that is a future Catra problem. Right now I need to move, and fast._

Pushing her mask back into place unto her head Catra wasted no time to step out of her hiding place crouched in the underbrush.

"Well, Well, Well, What do we have here?" She said, watching as both of the ' _intruders'_ flinched—at least until they recognized her—and saw the way she was dressed.

"Catra! We thought that you were dead."

"Anu!"

The old man was used to a lot of interruptions during the day but _never_ a door slamming open or a teenager practically barking at him.

"Catra? What in the world is it? You look as though you have seen a ghost?" he questioned, recalling the alarm earlier that morning and Cyra's panic when she had heard that Catra had ran off to investigate.

"I need a huge favor from you at least until I can talk to Cyra. Hordak seems to be getting rid of anything he deems a threat to his rule and unfortunately that included one of my... _friends._ I took them to the ruins of Valmere but I need you to try to heal her...at least as much as possible until I can get better treatment for her." Catra explained, still out of breath.

Anu couldn't hide his surprise at this but instead of criticizing her, he only only nodded.

"Alright. If you are sure but _**you**_ are the one who needs to talk to Cyra about this." he stated as he stood, grabbing his staff and heading toward the door.

 _Great, now I need to deal with the **hard** part and I just hope that I got Anu in time because electricity tends to due more harm beneath the surface than it does on the outside. _She thought, trying to level her emotions before she headed toward the throne room, figuring that she may as wells check there first.

"Catra! What the hell were you thinking or were you even thinking? Did you stop to think how worried it would make Aunt Cyra or did you just worry if we'd kill some of your _friends?_ "

Catra really resisted the urge to roll her eyes at _that_ voice as Amur came over to her.

"Now is _not_ the time Amur, Where is Queen Cyra? I need to talk to her." Catra stated, earning a scoff.

"Why? So you can turn her over to the Horde? That was your plan all along wasn't it? Gain our trust and then turn our rune stone over to Hordak?" Amur retorted, hand going to the handle of his sword as he added "I trusted you at first but then you _attack_ someone who has been nothing but _nice_ to you, even-though you didn't deserve it and now _this._ But I guess it's what they always say, Once a monster, always a monster."

Catra had heard this tone before during her years in the Fright Zone—From Lonnie.

"Yeah well I guess by that stander then _you_ will always be an asshole huh? What are you going to do? Attack me? You forget, I fought She-Ra and trust me...Magical buffers make people ten times stronger than some hate-filled grudge." Catra retorted as she lowered herself to the ground, preparing herself for an attack.

"What the hell is going on here? Amur, if you want to keep that sword I advise you not to use it as a go to every time your temper flairs. Catra, what the hell were you thinking? Are you trying to get yourself killed running head long into the unknown like that?" Cyra's voice boomed from behind them, causing them both to flinch at the sharp noise.

"You would take her side!" Amur accused, earning a glare from the queen.

"I am taking nobody's side. I want to know what in the stars are going on and I want the whole truth and unless you can hold your tongue, _boy_ I would suggest you go make yourself busy elsewhere."

Once Amur had left, Cyra sighed and turned toward Catra, taking note of how nervous she suddenly looked, however, before she could say anything the younger Magi-cat spoke up.

"I know I screwed up and I know that we have no reason to trust the Horde but something happened and I just _**can't**_ let anyone die, especially not when the someone who is hurt is even in this situation because of _me_ to begin with." Catra began, trying to not to shrink back under the queen's narrowed gaze.

"Explain what you are getting at. What happened out there?" Cyra replied, her tone never losing it's edge although it lacked the accusation that had been obvious in Amur's tone.

"Two of my former teammates—and I know that this sounds bad but hear me out—were the ones that the patrol saw. One _left_ the Horde, the other was almost _killed_ by them." Catra began, her mouth suddenly dry as she tried to explain the situation.

"Hordak marked one them, Entrapta as a probability...a danger to his throne and he ordered Scorpia to be the one to carry out the execution order. Scorpia was able to get her out of there but not after some of the other soldiers got hold of her and that's why I came and got Anu...She needs medical...badly and I don't care what you say or do. I am _**not**_ watching any more people I care about die because of the Horde."

Catra felt her resolve faltering under the penetrating eye of the woman before her.

"I know you don't trust them but Scorpia was willing to go all the way for one of the _only_ people who gave her a chance and didn't judge her on appearance alone and I won't let that be in vain...I can't imagine how it feels for her to abandon her family and everything she's ever known like that." Catra added after a few minutes.


	15. Chapter 15

Cyra knew of her nephew's concerns and now that she was listening to Catra she tried to make sense of it all. Had Hordak really done something like that—Cyra could believe that, especially from the way that Catra was talking.

But could she trust anyone from the Horde? Catra—she had told herself—was the exception but now that her daughter was standing before her, trying not to show any sign of weakness while practically _begging_ for her to help these Horde soldiers—She felt herself unable to decide.

 _What if this literally blows up in our faces?_ She couldn't help but wonder as she moved to put a hand on the younger Magi-cat's shoulder, watching as she visibly recoiled from the touch.

"Go get Kassi and the other healers and meet me by the front gates. I will go along with you to them." she finally decided, tightening her grip just slightly before turning and sliding her own—golden—mask over her face before taking off toward the entrance.

Catra shook herself from her thoughts and then rushed off to the medical bay.

 _I can worry about m—Cyra later. I need to move and fast. If Entrapta dies then that would be just as much my fault as anyone else...and it would be worse because she considered me a friend._

The first thing that Cyra noticed when she entered the ruins was that Anu was knelt over someone, green magic floating from his fingers as his brow furrowed and sweat seemed to gleam on his fur.

"What do we have?" One of the healers asked him, voice dropping too low for even the sensitive hearing of a magi-cat to pick up.

 _Something is terribly wrong._

She thought, eyes narrowing at the scene in front of her.

 _Good people does terrible things_.

She reminded herself as soon as her eyes landed on the taller of the two girls that Catra had lead her to—or rather—lead to them.

Turning her full attention on her daughter, she watched as the usually aloof teen crouched beside this tall, platinum haired person and put a hand on her arm as if to comfort her. Only to be pulled into an all out hug—much to Catra's disdain.

 _Well_ _ **that**_ _was unexpected...especially if you add to the fact that Catra flinches whenever anyone else touches her._ Cyra thought in amusement before she came over to get a good look at who her healers were currently working on.

The first thing she noticed was the girl was tiny and that she looked pale.

"What exactly happened to her?" she asked no one in particular as she knelt down.

"Electrical Burns mostly but from the scans I would say she had a lot of internal injuries. She is stable now but she's going to need rest and a lot of it." Anu was the one who answered, standing his full height before sighing

"Seems like Catra _can_ judge character. The Scorpion was worried sick when I got here...although I warn you...She is as bad as Micah's sister." he stated, catching Cyra off guard.

"How can...She's from the Fright Zone." the queen hissed, earning a smirk.

"and now you sound like your over-critical nephew and I _know_ why you are thinking that about her of all people but you must remember, the sins of the parents does not refract onto their children. That girl is a soldier—yes—but she is not cruel it seems." Anu said, chuckling a bit.

 _Was I really doing that? I mean I **know** that people were basically raised into the Horde's mindset but I know how that kingdom was...treacherous, powerful even. They left when they learned that the alliance was not going to be as underhanded as they may have liked._ Cyra thought, sighing as she glanced back across the room. _But then again, predating prejudices were still rampant as well...but can we fully trust her?_

Cyra shook the thought from her mind as she glanced over at the girl in question—who seemed to be visibly shaken by whatever it was that she was telling Catra, who looked equally disturbed.

"Tora would be laughing at you right now for how much like your mother you're being."

Anu's voice cut the queen from her thoughts—earning a growl as she turned toward him.

"Don't bring my _mother_ into this. I am _**nothing**_ like her."


	16. Chapter 16

Catra couldn't help but feel nervous as Cyra approached them in the medical wing, her golden gaze seeming to bore a hole in Scorpia as though the taller girl was something dirty or beneath her and Catra couldn't help but remember something that Scorpia had said before.

" _they really didn't treat my family all that well even before we were in the Horde."_

could it be possible that _**this**_ is what she had meant? Was it some sort of prejudice bullshit going on? Quickly schooling her features so that she didn't give away what she was feeling—or thinking Catra stood, her attention never leaving the Magi-cat queen.

"Cyra, this is Scorpia...The closest thing I had to a friend in the Fright Zone after Adora left. Scorpia, this is Queen C'yra the second of Driluth..." she began, pausing to try to gain nerve to speak the words that she would utter next "Who is also my mother."

Time seemed to freeze as she waited for _some kind_ of response, although of course it was Scorpia who finally broke the silence.

"Oh wow, I didn't know you were a princess Catra." She stated, not noticing that Catra stiffened at the title as she turned her attention to Cyra "It's a pleasure to meet you Ma'am and I can't thank you enough for helping Entrapta. I honesty thought..."

Catra could see Cyra's eyes widen slightly at the honest declaration that came from the half-scorpion.

"I could not allow the girl to die." Cyra began, her words holding no emotion as she glanced over at Catra before adding "My daughter seems to trust you so I will allow you to stay here for as long as you like, do not make me regret this. If you screw up, it reflects badly on her."

Catra felt her mouth go dry as she heard those all too familiar words—words she had heard from Shadow Weaver all those years ago—and before she could even realize what she was doing, Catra spoke up.

"I take full responsibility for her but she isn't like _**that.**_ Don't you start acting like you're fucking better than her or that _**I'm**_ better because guess what, I'm the _same_ as her or do you forget, I nearly killed Angella _and_ She-Ra? That I was the second in command? Or is this about _what_ she is? You know, all you Higher ups are all the same and I want **no part of it**." Catra stated, nearly hissing the last part as she brushed past Cyra who was stunned.

"I didn't mean it like..." Sighing Cyra pinched the bridge of her nose "What the hell just happened?" she thought aloud, forgetting that Scorpia was there until she felt a claw lightly touch her shoulder.

"Hey, it's okay. Catra's always a bit moody." Scorpia stated, earning a sigh.

"Yeah...I just meant that there are still people who doesn't trust _her_ and they don't need any more ammo against her." the queen said under her breath to no one in particular before shaking her head and shrugging away from Scorpia.

 _No, Catra is probably right. I may have been subconsciously directing my bitterness toward her family onto her. But that was not my intentions at all...Maybe Maye was right, maybe I **should** talk to someone about everything that happened befre. _ Cyra thought as she turned toward Scorpia.

"Sorry about all of this. As I was saying, you can stay here for as long as you like." she stated before heading toward her own chambers.

"I think you should go talk to her."

Scorpia's statement caused the queen to freeze in her tracks before turning to face her.

"Catra sometimes gets this _look_ in her eye and she got that look before she started yelling. I don't know what it is she thinks about but when she gets like that, she is unpredictable _but_ she never _means_ any of it."

Cyra was about to say something but the words died on her tongue when she realized exactly _what_ it was that the silver haired girl was doing.

 _She is actually concerned for Catra._

"you're right, I probably should...But _**after**_ I know that she won't try to knock my head off."


	17. Chapter 17

"you're being unreasonable. You should at least hear her out." Scorpia said as she blocked yet another punch from Catra, earning a growl from the shorter female.

"Why should I? It's not like she'll listen to me!" Catra retorted "I'm nothing more than a horde soldier in her eyes." she stated, each blow getting harder and harder, forcing Scorpia back slightly "she's just like Shadow Weaver and every other jackass with a title."

Scorpia didn't say anything for a few minutes, trying to piece together whatever it was that was really bothering Catra.

"You know Cyra isn't Shadow Weaver, right? I mean she has _every reason_ not to trust me. I mean we _were_ on the opposite sides of the war _and_ she doesn't know me so there's that." Scorpia answered, earning a look that clearly was meant to tell her to shut up.

"Do you think that I don't _want_ to believe that? Scorpia, this is the _first_ time in my life that I could _**dare to hope**_ that someone actually gave a damn about me but every time it seems like someone does, something comes along to prove otherwise." Catra exclaimed, slumping down onto her bed, running a hand over her face.

"I think she does care but you two just found out about each other recently right? She may be just used to being a queen not a mom, you know?" Scorpia said, earning a scoff.

"Seems like she did fine with Amur."

"Who's Amur?" Scorpia questioned as she took a seat beside Catra on the bed, earning a sigh.

"The older cousin from hell. He started out nice enough but now...Ugh...I don't even know the words to describe the bastard."

"See, this is what everyone was afraid of! More horde soldiers will keep coming until this place falls from the inside out!" Amur ranted, earning a glare from Cyra who retorted.

"I am not listening to the idle chatter of an overgrown kitten right now Amur. I couldn't just let that child _die_ because of some dumb suspicion that held no proof." she stated, trying to remain calm as she kept her eyes trained on the papers in front of her.

"How am I behaving like a child? I swear since that... _ **Fitz**_... Do you really want to see more people die because you were too stupid..." Before Amur could even finish that sentence he found himself staggering back from a blow across the face.

"Don't you _dare_ try to accuse me of such a thing." Cyra growled, ears flattening "Do you think that I _**ever**_ wanted to watch my people die? Do you ever think that maybe why I vanished for that amount of time was because I _wanted_ to die myself? You were left hurting from the loss of your parents but at least you _had_ people who could help you. _**I**_ was the one _everyone_ turned to, _ **I**_ didn't have time to do more than light a funeral pyre before I had to focus on my people." Cyra said, voice shaking—although rather it was with rage or suppressed sadness Amur wasn't sure and he wasn't sure he wanted to find out—after all, she had never raised a hand to him before, let alone struck him.

So he did the only thing that he figured he could do and that was leave.

Anu was jolted from sleep when he heard his door slamming open, knocking a photo off of the wall in the process.

 _Like mother like daughter it seems...although it really shouldn't surprise me._ He thought in amusement as he turned his attention to the younger woman who strode into his living room area.

"What is it with the royal family and storming in here whenever something goes wrong for them?" he commented, smirking a bit even though she was leering at him.

"just shut up, I need advice." she retorted, slumping down into one of the chairs, much to his amusement.

"My queen you contradict yourself. How can I give advice if I just remain silent?" Anu retorted before adding "Is this about those two girls that Catra brought here?"

Cyra closed her eyes as she thought back to both the one sided argument—or rather emotional explotion—that she had with Catra and the fact that she had lost her own temper with Amur.

"Yes and No." she answered, earning an arched brow

"That bad?" he guessed, earning a sigh from the monarch.

"I may have slapped Amur."

"Who's she?"

"Is she your girlfriend?"

"Don't be stupid, she's a princess and they have to get married and have kids!"

Catra really didn't know rather or not she wanted to face palm or shove the two kittens off the railing and into the water below them.

"No she is _**not**_ my girlfriend and her name is Scorpia and as for who I can or can't date I don't think that is anyone's buissiness." Catra retorted, trying hard to resist the urge to punch Scorpia because she was snickering.

"But isn't it tradition..."

Catra scoffed at that

"for one screw tradition, for two Shut up Kissana. Don't you two have anything better to do besides annoy me?"

Scorpia had noticed a difference between Catra and Shadow Weaver's training methods in the fright zone but it wasn't quite as obvious as it was in that moment.

"Nope. Captain Amur basically told us to go to hell when we showed up to class."

Catra couldn't help but arch a brow at the other kitten's response.

"Mecka, I usually don't care but if your mother hears you talking like that she's gonna blame me and I don't want to have one of the healers ticked off at me so tone it down." she retorted before adding "why don't you two take Scorpia on a tour of the rest of the place? I need to go check on someone."

Without waiting for an answer Catra left without anymore explanation.


	18. Chapter 18

Catra wasn't sure what she would see when she walked into Entrapta's room but whatever it was, it wasn't the to see the girl in question using her hair to examine some of the things that the healers had left in the room.

"Yeah, don't ask because I have no idea what the heck half of these things are. I did bring you something though." she said, plopping a basket down onto Entrapta's lap before moving back against the wall.

"What the..." Entrapta began, opening the basket only to find that it was almost completely full of small cakes. Looking back up at Catra, the other girl earned a look.

"Don't get the wrong idea, I just didn't want you to starve to death because of your sensory issues—and the cooks were overjoyed for a reason to show off their baking skills." Catra stated, although Entrapta didn't believe that because Catra didn't do anything 'just because'.

"Either way, Thanks. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't showed up and brought me here...Where is here anyway and when did you start turning into a giant cat?"

Sighing Catra moved to take a seat on the edge of the cot.

"You are currently in Half-Moon, Kingdom of the Magi-cat's and I can turn into a giant cat because I am connected to the Rune stone that the Magi-cat's control." Catra answered, leaving out the part about being a princess because—after all, she was _not_ about to call herself that aloud.

"You're connected to a rune stone but aren't only the princesses...Wait a second...Are you a princess?" Entrapta asked, getting slightly louder as her eyes grew a bit wide at the realization of what Catra had basically just said.

"Unfortunately. Just don't start calling me _princess_ Catra because if I hear that _one_ more time I am going to gag." Catra retorted before adding in a low growl "the same goes for _fluffy_. I swear that was the first thing that Scorpia said when I transformed _and_ if she does it again I swear I am going to knock her out with her own venom."

Entrapta couldn't help but chuckle at that, smiling a bit as she retorted "Catra, I think Scorpions are immune to their own venom so if that is anything to go by, I don't think you'd do much more than annoy her."

Catra shrugged at that

"Hey, it would still be worth a shot. Worse thing she'll do is smack me with her tail."

When Catra finally left the hospital wing she half expected Scorpia to be driven crazy by the kittens not sitting in middle of Catra's room—Which she had agreed to share with Scorpia—with all the lights off and surrounded by odd glowing blue orbs that the kittens seemed to be manifesting by magic.

"Uh...What the heck is going on here and why are you glowing blue?" she asked, getting Scorpia's attention.

"Oh! Check this out Catra! This is cool, I didn't know I could _glow_ in certain light!"

Scorpia's response made Catra roll her eyes.

"Okay...how is it that you're a full year older than me? I didn't even react like _that_ when I found out I could turn into a four legged killing machine." Catra retorted before she glanced over at the children who had been listening to this exchange silently.

"I'm gonna go... _try_ to talk to my m—To Cyra," she said, heading toward the door only to pause "But when I get back, these weird orb things needs to be gone...This place is creepy enough at night _without_ purple magic bubbles floating all over the place."

She wasn't looking forward to this talk with her mom, that was for sure. However, she had little choice but she knew she _should—_ or get annoyed by Scorpia until she did—but as she drew closer to Cyra's chambers she couldn't help but get nervous.

Would she forgive her for that outburst? Would she banish her from Half-Moon?

She didn't think she had been that nervous since being drug in front of Hordak for the first time but she couldn't seem to help herself.

When she walked into Cyra's room she saw the older woman hunched over her desk, head in her hands.

"Look...about earlier...I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier. It's just..." Catra began, earning a sigh from Cyra who didn't even bother to look up.

"You don't have to stand outside the room Catra and for the record, I needed the jolt of reality. I didn't realize that I sounded like I thought less of Scorpia, which I did _not_ mean to do but since some are having a hard time trusting you...I just wanted to make sure nothing happened to make things harder." Cyra responded, only looking up when Catra came over and put a hand on her arm.

"Are you okay?" Catra asked, unable to hide her concern at her mother's lack of response and stiff posture.

"Yes, just a bit tired." Cyra replied before adding with a motion to her paper covered desk "and I still have this to deal with."

Catra's brow furrowed a bit as she eyed the stack of papers.

"Maybe I can help. I mean I am _technically_ a princess and you look like you're about to drop at any second and since my room looks like some kind of dark mages paradise right now, I have nothing better to do. Besides I used to have to do this shit in the fright zone...Keep up with rations, supplies and all of that...not to mention the training programs. I think I can handle dealing with organizing people and supplies."


	19. Chapter 19

Cyra had noticed that Catra had fallen asleep sometime after she had basically insisted on finishing _her_ half of the work but the older magi-cat didn't expect to nearly be startled out of her seat by the sound of Catra suddenly yelping—and falling off the chair she had managed to curl up on.

"Are you okay?" Cyra asked, taking note of the frantic way that the teen looked around the room, as if she was searching for something or someone.

"uh...yeah...shit. Sorry, I must have dozed off." Catra responded, slowly getting up as her face took on a slightly darker shade—much to Cyra's amusement.

"its after midnight so yeah, most people who are in their right minds _are_ asleep right now." Cyra said with a chuckle as she turned back toward her desk, pausing as she added "Did you know you talk in your sleep? I don't know _**what**_ you were dreaming about but you must have been happy...You were purring."

Cyra couldn't help but to laugh as she watched her daughter's face turn even redder.

"Wha...I was not! You're insane, old woman!" Catra exclaimed, before busying herself with shifting through the paperwork she had left on the small table in beside her chair.

"Sure I am, kitten. Sure I am. You may want to leave the paperwork until morning. You probably should get some rest."

Catra just ignored that statement because maybe if she _ignored_ the annoying comments Cyra wouldn't keep making them—and she could avoid dealing with the nightmares that had been plaguing her since she had defected..

"I need to go see if Amur is asleep yet...and _you_ should start putting that crap away. You've been up since like seven this morning." the queen said after a while, sending her a pointed look as she walked past Catra, who just huffed at the suggestion.

"I'm not a kid! I can handle it, I used to stay up longer than this growing up in the Fright Zone!" Catra retorted but otherwise ignored what her mother had said. After all, what was a few more hours when she didn't sleep all that well anyway? Wasn't she _used_ to getting only a few hours of rest each night?

Taking a seat on the short sofa that was at the far end of the room, Catra returned her attention to the papers despite how the words had started to blur together or how her eyes had started to burn.

 _Ugh...I'll just close my eyes for a few minutes and then I'll finish up._

She thought, leaning back so that she was stretched against the length of the couch.

The next thing she knew she heard a chuckle as something brushed against her cheek before a heavy, soft, fabric was draped over her and for a moment, Catra was confused. Why was she doing this? Wasn't she angry?

Catra knew that thinking those things were stupid, but no matter how long she stayed in Half-Moon, it didn't seem like she could convince herself that Cyra wasn't like Shadow Weaver—after all, hadn't Shadow Weaver thrown her across the room merely for a _minor_ mistake during training? That was something that Cyra had _**never**_ done, even when she had honestly irritated the woman.

 _Is this really what having a family is like?_

She couldn't help but wonder since her only memories of having anything close to a normal childhood was blurry due to both time and magical influence. She didn't know how long she had set there, staring down at the dark blue cape that had been thrown over her as if it wasn't the symbolic representation of the royal family's mantel.

"I hope I didn't wake you. You seemed comfortable so I was going to just let you be...although I have to warn you, that couch will really mess up your neck if you're not careful." Cyra said suddenly, surprising Catra who turned toward her.

"How did you know I was..."

she didn't get to finish that sentence before Cyra answered

"Breathing patterns change between sleep cycles and wakefulness. I know you've been laying there for at least five minutes, awake."

Catra nodded, unsure if—or even what—she could or should say to that so instead she slowly started to get off the couch, however she instantly found herself curling back up under the cape.

"Okay, why in the heck is this room freezing? I can handle a lot but this..." Catra began, earning a laugh from the woman who shrugged.

"Cold weather training kinda desensitizes you to it...that _and_ I've been to the ice kingdom more times than I would like to count. I turned on the vent in here so it _should_ start getting warmer. I probably should have warned you before you offered to help."

"hey, it takes more than the cold to get me down." Catra retorted, smirking before adding "But thanks."

Silence passed over them for a while, Catra just curled up on the sofa while Cyra finished putting things away.

"Catra, I want you to come with me for a second...I have something for you."

 _Something for me? What in the world could she be talking about?_ Catra wondered, brow farrowing as she wrapped herself under the thick cloak and stood up. She didn't have to worry about appearing weak here and she diffidently didn't want to have to deal with getting sick either.

Especially not now that Scorpia was around.

 _Am I doing the right thing by trusting her with this? She is hot headed, after all._ She wondered although as she thought about it, it seemed _wrong_ not to. Sighing she lead the girl through the private hallway that lead to her bed chambers.

"I normally would wait and give you this _but_ since you go out on the surface I want you to have more protection than just your natural fighting talent." Cyra said, sighing as she motioned for her daughter to follow her into the room.

Catra glanced around as she took in. Cyra's room wasn't anything like she expected a queen's—or even a soldier's—room to be. There was maps decorating each wall and the bed was large and plush, taking up a whole side of the room. But what really caught Catra's attention was the paintings that hung on the other wall—and the fact that there were tubes of paint laying around in one corner.

"you paint?" She guessed, earning a nod from Cyra.

"Yes, usually just landscapes." Cyra answered before opening the door to a cabinant, rummaging around among the clothes and mumbling to herself.

Catra couldn't help but snicker at the sight of the monarch—who usually acted so calm and collected—being scatterbrained.

"You going to be alright? If things start talking back there's going to be a problem." she questioned teasingly, only to have a shirt thrown in her face a second later.

"shut it and go...entertain yourself or something." Cyra grumbled, not turning from where she was searching.

Catra used that as an excuse to look around the room further.

 _It seems like she is a lot different in private than she is in public...and its like I only know **half** of who she is. _Catra thought as her eyes scanned over a collection of canvases that were hanging on the wall, eyes narrowing as they landed on a portrait.

The man, she reconized as Tora was sitting near a tree, dressed in casual wear.

"What was Tora like?" she couldn't help but ask, hearing a bang followed by a curse before Cyra closed the cabinet.

"Smart, benevolent, talented, open-minded and although he would deny it if he was here, he was a bit of a prankster as well...Which is _how_ I met him to begin with. But _that_ story can wait for later." Cyra's answered as she walked over toward her, handing Catra what looked to be an older model of the Light Paw that Amur carried.

"This was his...and I think he'd rather you have it than it going to ruin in my closet." she explained, noticing the look on her daughter's face.

Catra slowly accepted the weapon, flipping the switch on the handle and watching as the blade began to glow to life, arcs of red electricity dancing around the specialty crafted metal.

"Are you sure? I mean..." Catra began, brow furrowing although Cyra could see her tail quivering slightly.

"Positive. I'll train you how to use it correctly without lobbing your own head off, or someone else's either for that matter but other than _that_ I trust you with this." Cyra answered.

"I promise I'll take care of it."


	20. Chapter 20

Catra may not have been the most observant of people but even she could notice the wince when their light claws crossed, the electric arcs creating small explosions of light and color. Hell, she could see Cyra flinch just at the sight of the red energy dancing across the blade—which explained why the queen's herself was an odd dark colored energy.

 _Seems like her eye is sensitive to either color or light...Or possibly both. Maybe I can exploit that weakness sometime during training to finally get the upper hand_? She thought

However this weakness did nothing to hinder Cyra—not really—because despite how hard she tried, Catra couldn't seem to figure out how to get the upper hand against the woman, who was constantly pushing her back.

"What's wrong kitten? Too much?" Cyra jeered, her face hidden by the helmet of the training armor but Catra could practically _hear_ the smirk on her face.

 _Okay, if I was always_ _ **that**_ _cocky no wonder Lonnie went out of her way to kick my ass._ Catra thought as she staggered to reposition herself before growling softly and charged again, blades clashing although Cyra didn't seem to even budge from the force of it, despite how her muscles tensed.

"Need to do better than _that_ if you wanna push me back across the line, kid." the queen said simply, bringing her saber down across the front of the chest plate of Catra's armor, sending her flying backward.

"Ugh...Easier said than done when your opponent is built like freakin' a tank."

 _No wonder people talk about her fighting ability...I think she could even give Adora and that damn sword a run for their money._ Catra thought as she continued to lay there, out of breath from both exertion and the fall. She could hear Cyra chuckling across the room and the sound of her light paw powering down.

"it took me a long time to develop the muscle and stamina I have. You're pretty strong for someone so young...although I _know_ you can be stronger. You try too hard _not_ to be able to."

Those words caught Catra's attention because it lacked judgment—so unlike the training sessions from her childhood. It was a statement or rather, a mere observation that Cyra was making. Standing back up, Catra moved to remove her own armor.

"You know this shit is so heavy it was probably weighing me down." she complained, really to just break the silence although Cyra just laughed.

"Trust me, better to have that ' _shit'_ on than to take a energy burn to the chest. Trust me, been on both sides of the blade for that when I was a stupid teenager."

Catra couldn't help but perk her ears at that.

"Now that is a story I have got to hear. It's hard to imagine _you_ doing anything that could be considered stupid."

"I wasn't _always_ level headed. As a matter of fact, I drove my mother crazy for the most part. People actually joke that it was your father who mellowed me out...although to be frank I think I corrupted him." Cyra responded with a chuckle, although her eyes darkened.

"How did you two meet anyway? I mean, I _know_ about you being betrothed to some general's son _before_ you met him and the whole tradition thing but he was from a village, not the capital." Catra asked, figuring if she wanted to know anything about her parents, she would have to just straight out ask.

Sighing Cyra turned to her, closing her eyes.

"I never liked sitting around for lessons so I'd always sneak off to one of the surrounding villages," Cyra began her voice dropping to almost a whisper "One day I went to Valmere and landed right in middle of a magic war...Or rather a _sibling_ war. Needless to say whatever enchantment that Tora had set on that tree turned my fur bright _neon_ purple. Imagine his panic when he found out the person he had hexed was the _princess_."

Catra _could_ imagine the panic, which would probably be comparable to the panic she felt after accidentally splitting Adora's lip during a play fight when she was a kid.

"I bet you were pissed." Catra said, hanging on to ever word as Cyra laughed softly.

"Oh, I was...especially since I wasn't the most Feminine person in the kingdom." the queen retorted before adding "Although after I managed to chase him straight into a pig pen...I called it even. Especially since Taika, his brother, saw the whole thing and would _never_ let him live it down. We started meeting up after that."

Catra could almost imagine that whole thing, although imagining a young Cyra was somewhat hard for her since she was so reserved now.

"If you two started out as enemies then how the hell did you two end up married?" she couldn't help but ask, earning a laugh.

"Tora was a charmer and it was easy to fall in love with his personality. He was everything that Luan wasn't so I decided that if my mother was going to try to _force_ me to marry Luan I would just give everything up and leave for any other kingdom. Tora and I had it all planned out but then my mother found out and as pissed off as she was...she saw how stubborn I was and she didn't want to lose me...so she relented."

Catra thought about this for some time, before she finally spoke again.

"No offense by your mom sounded like a bitch."

Cyra arched a brow at that before smirking.

"Remember, She's your grandmother and although she made it obvious that she loved her family, she was not cut out to be a mother. Don't get me wrong, she never mistreated me but she didn't quite understand how to deal with children so she sometimes was unnecessarily harsh—although being a single mother may have added to that." she answered, not bothering to lecture Catra on what she had just said.

"my question is how did _you_ **not** end up being like her?" Catra questioned as they left the training chamber, earning a shrug.

"I always said that I wouldn't rule my kingdom or my family with an iron fist, unlike she did."


	21. Chapter 21

"Another letter from Bright-Moon? Jeez that makes the third one this week." Cyra stated as she leaned back onto the sofa, draping an arm over her eyes.

"I have friends you know." Catra retorted, otherwise ignoring her mother who just hummed in response before growing quiet again.

"Glimmer and Adora want to talk to you about their alliance." Catra said after a few minutes of reading, earning a huff from Cyra who didn't even bother to look up at her.

"I am not going to Angella's kingdom just to discuss such a thing." Cyra muttered, earning a sigh.

"They want to come here and I _know_ how you feel about the alliance and everything _but_ I've been on the receiving of their power and I know how strong they are and this is the _perfect_ way for us to get revenge." Catra began, earning a sigh.

"Fine but _you_ are to deal with interactions with the alliance...and _can_ invite them here. I'm curious about this _She-Ra_ character I keep hearing about since she is _supposed_ to be so strong." Cyra said before sitting up, rubbing at her temples as her face twisted into a grimace.

"you okay?" Catra asked, moving to sit beside the queen who nodded.

"just a migraine. I'll be alright."

A heavy silence passed over them for a while, Catra afraid to say anything since it may add to the pain that the queen was in. However after a while she couldn't help but ask

"Is it because of the Light Paws? I noticed that you seemed in pain during our sparring session earlier today."

Cyra let out a sigh then and nodded, looking up at her before answering

"Side effect from a head injury. I can't handle seeing bright lights. I took something for it while you were out but these kinds of headaches seem to last forever."

"Maybe Entrapta can help? You haven't met her yet _and_ she is pretty smart, Plus she has issues when it comes to textures so maybe she will have an idea about how to deal with it...But we'll wait until after you're feeling better to go talk to her because she can be a tad bit...Eccentric." Catra said after a while, hoping that the purple haired princess could indeed come up with something.

"You're Catra's Mom?It's nice to meet you! I didn't think you'd be this tall and muscular...I expected you to be...well...Less Buff."

Cyra stood stock still as she felt a strand of hair wind itself around her bicep, as if measuring it. She could practically see the gears turning in the small built girl's head, although she wasn't sure which took her aback more. The fact that the girl had no sense of personal space _or_ the fact that she was basically walking with her hair—of all things.

"Uh yes I am. Catra seems to get her build from her father's side of the family." Cyra answered, arching a brow at the girl who was recording everything with yet _another_ strand of hair.

 _Okay...I know that most princesses have powers but seriously...Hair? Of all the creepy things some species can do... **this** takes the cake._ Cyra thought, trying not to let her expression betray her thoughts although it was easier said than done, expectantly since this girl was basically prodding her.

"Ooh...Interesting. There isn't a lot of information available on magi-cats. Do you think I could ask some questions? And maybe take some samples?"

Catra couldn't help but snicker at the look on her mother's face.

"Okay spider-Hair, Focus." she stated, trying to hide her amusement at the unusual predicament that her mother was in "She has an issue with bright lights. Think you can come up with something that could act as a visor of some sort?"

Cyra kinda tuned out what Entrapta was saying thing, only really paying attention when questions were directed at her and once she had followed Scorpia down the hall to find _something_ that Cyra didn't understand the meaning of. She finally let out a sigh.

" _Whiskers_ , is that girl always like that?"

Catra didn't know what was funnier about hearing her mother say that. The fact that she had used a 'commoner' expression or that she looked almost relieved that Entrapta was gone.

"You get used to her...Usually she's only _that_ level of...Well herself, when she's excited and she's the science geek out of all the people I know _so_ there is that." Catra retorted, earning a shake of the head from Cyra.

"I'm glad I waited until my headache had passed to meet her because _that..._ was a bit... _much_."

Catra couldn't help it then, she doubled over with laughter.

"Mom, you should have seen your face!" Catra stated, not even noticing what she had said.

Cyra however was slightly surprised by this since Catra seemed to be so keen on never directly calling her that to her face.

"I'm going to go make sure those two doesn't blow something up...Don't rip something, it's not _that_ funny." Cyra said instead of pointing it out before leaving the room to find where the other two _former_ Horde soldiers had vanished.

"Oh come on, you know you'd laughed at me if the tables were turned!" Catra called, rushing to catch up with her, then she caught on to the rather amused look on the queen's face.

"You're an ass you know that?"

"are you sure you don't want one?"

Cyra could _feel_ Catra's eyes on here when Scorpia had offered her the plate of oddly shaped cookies that she had evidently baked earlier that day—although how she had managed to do anything without fingers Cyra would never understand.

"No thanks. I don't really eat a lot of sweets." she answered, earning a shrug.

 _A hyper active scientist and a traitor who may or may not try to poison someone._ She thought, shaking her head as she tried to figure out just how on earth she had ended up having _three_ former horde soldiers living in her kingdom.

"How's your head?" Catra asked after a while of just watching Entrapta doing _something_ in the corner of the room.

"It's fine. Although I have no idea how anything anyone makes is going to help me. The healers couldn't fix whatever the problem is." Cyra retorted with a slight huff.

"Well Catra said that you started experiencing these symptoms after you got knocked unconscious so I assume it has something to do with a damaged oculomotor nerve. I _should_ be able to fix some goggles or something to filter out the wavelengths that are known to trigger negative reactions in photophobic people." Entrapta said, earning an look from Cyra.

"I thought you made machines...how the hell do you know about Oculo...whatever?" she asked, earning a shrug.

"Read about it."


	22. Chapter 22

Catra couldn't help but laugh when Cyra tried on the glasses that Entrapta had made for her, her golden eyes seeming orange through the red lens.

"Shut up you." the queen grumbled at her before powering up her sword, not flinching much at the flash of light.

"Ooh, cool! It's like a plasma wielder! Can I see it?"

Suddenly Cyra found herself taking a step back as Entrapta brought herself up to her height.

"uh...Yes? Just don't lob someone's head off." Cyra said, letting the princess of Dryl take the saber from her.

Catra snickered as she turned toward Scorpia who looked just as amused.

"Who would have thought, a seven foot tall war veteran afraid of a tiny girl with an attention span of a gnat."

Neither noticed how Cyra's ears flicked at that before she retorted.

"And _again,_ shut up Catra. Besides, I'm six foot...I'm not a giant. I'm literally only an inch taller than Scorpia." she retorted, watching with an arched brow as Entrapta examined the sword.

"Speaking of which I need you to go into the nearest town and get some medical herbs. Think you can handle that?" She added after a few minutes.

"Yeah, I should be able to. I need to send that letter to Adora anyway." Catra answered before turning toward Scorpia "You coming?"

Catra almost instantly regretted asking the slightly older girl, who's expression seemed to light up at that.

 _This is going to be a long day._ She thought before glancing over at Cyra. _She needs to learn that there **are** horde soldiers that aren't exactly cut out to be soldiers...Scorpia being exhibit A._

"So you still talk to Adora?"

Catra sighed at the question as they walked down the overgrown road, glancing over at Scorpia who seemed generally curious about the whole pardicament.

" _long_ story and who are you to judge? There for a long time Adora was the only friend I had." Catra answered—or rather deflected the question, earning a nod from the taller girl.

"At least _you_ had someone growing up. I was pretty much alone, I mean even when I still lived with my parents, everyone kind of just _avoided_ me." Scorpia stated.

"Like my mom is doing now? I know you're no idiot, you noticed how awkward she was earlier toward you." Catra couldn't keep herself from saying, only to feel a claw lay across her shoulder.

"Hey, I'm an outsider _and_ a Horde soldier. I doubt I'd be welcomed _anywhere_ right now." Scorpia stated although the look on her face was anything but as optimistic as her voice sounded.

"Besides, I'm kinda used to it."

Catra couldn't help but growl at that.

 _Ugh...Since when did I start caring about her?_

"Yeah and it's bullshit. You shouldn't be _judged_ just because of what your parents did or because of how you _look."_

Catra wouldn't admit it but she knew how that felt. She had been the _only person_ of her species in the Horde and that alone had been enough to make the other cadets that she had grown up with to exclude her and it wasn't the best feeling.

Not that she would _**ever**_ admit that to anyone, let alone Scorpia who was probably already taking this whole conversation the wrong way.

"You know, you're different. I can't exactly put a finger on it _but_ you've changed." Scorpia said after a few minutes, earning a look.

"If you say that I am going soft I **will** hit you." Catra retorted, earning a laugh.

"No, it's not that. It's just...You used to be, what's the word? Distant?"

Catra chose to ignore that.

"Not everyone can be sunshine and daisies like you are, Scorpia."

"There seems to be a slight deviation between the deoxyribonucleic acid of the two subspecies of Magi-cat. However, you seem to have the same Chronosome found in the sample that the magician gave me. Why do you think that is?"

Cyra really _didn't_ understand science but she would amuse the girl...who at least didn't seem to mean any real harm.

"My mother was a mage but my father was not. I never could seem to harness any form of power outside of shape-shifting though." Cyra answered, earning a hum in response as Entrapta jotted something down.

"Is that common among the offspring of both subgroups?" Entrapta asked, earning a shrug.

"As far as I know there has been no study applied to it. _But_ I'm not a scientist nor a scholar. I barely can understand what you're talking about." Cyra said as she glanced down at the letter that Angella had sent her before adding "You seem to know a lot about this sort of thing. Do you have any idea as to _why_ some from mixed families seem to be effected and others not?"

She wasn't expecting the increased energy that Entrapta seemed to get at hearing that question—or the rush of words she could barely comprehend—that came pouring from the teenager's mouth.

 _This is going to be a long day._ The queen couldn't help but think as she glanced at the clock across the room. _Why didn't Catra take this one with her as well?_

"You have got to try this Catra! It's delicious!"

Catra grimaced as she glanced over at what Scorpia was eating and shook her head.

"No thanks, I can smell the peppers from way over here."

It was odd to say the least, sitting in middle of a village just _being._ There was no expectations or looking over their shoulder. The only thing that they had to do was wait for the apothecary to open. Leaning back against the tree, Catra closed her eyes.

 _Maybe I **am** going soft. _She thought _Then again, I just don't have a bunch of idiots breathing orders down the back of my neck at every second._

"Do you think that the Horde is looking for us? I mean technically I would be considered a traitor." Scorpia asked suddenly, earning a huff from Catra.

"Lets see, two people running away, one wearing a horde uniform and the other having severe injuries. Let's just say they probably assume _**both**_ of you are dead." Catra answered, not bothering to open her eyes.

Catra was half asleep when Scorpia spoke again.

"I don't think I've ever thanked you for helping...I was so afraid that I was going to lose the only friend I had left after you just...vanished."

Now that got Catra's attention.

"I'm sorry about just up and leaving but _**I**_ acted on instinct and I couldn't just lose Adora permanently...I would rather not have her around than have her dead...You know? I mean she was there when no one else was." Catra said, brow furrowing as she thought about the weight of those words "but I'm glad I did...I mean, who knows what would have happened if all of this had happened _**before**_ that battle. I don't **want** to think about it actually because I'm not sure if I would have been as loyal as you are."


	23. Chapter 23

Catra smirked as she watched the main road leading toward the former kingdom of half moon, tail flicking in anticipation. She _knew_ this was probably a bad idea but that was a problem for the future, after all what use was a power if she didn't get to have some fun with it every once in a while.

 _I just hope that dumb horse isn't with them...Like seriously the last thing I need to hear from is that overgrown, rainbow feather duster._ She thought as she lay her full, massive body down onto the branch. _Pretty sure that thing would shit rainbows it I managed to scare him enough._

Chuckling at that thought Catra waited, listening for any sound of familiar voices coming that way. She didn't know how long that she had lay there, but one of the few things that she hated about her shifted form was that her fur seemed to draw heat to it—more than usual—and even though it felt wonderful, it also tended to make her drowsy.

Which she hated, especially since she really needed to stay awake for her plan to work.

After felt like an hour her ears suddenly picked up the sound of voices and she waited for just the right moment before she pounced, easily knocking her target to the ground.

"What the..."

"Adora!"

Glimmer had been about to attack...that was until she noticed the familiar red mask that the creature wore and _then_ some of the letters that Adora had gotten made sense.

"Very _funny_ Catra. You almost gave us a heart attack! How the heck can you do _**that**_ _anyway?_ She demanded, hearing a sound that she assumed was a scoff as the gaint cat removed a paw from Adora's chest to push up the mask, causing a flash of energy before the familiar form of Catra sat in it's place.

"Wouldn't _you_ like to know?" Catra stated, only to be shoved backward a second later by an rather irritated Adora.

"Jeez...What is up with you and jumping on me?" the blonde asked, sitting up and trying to remove the paw prints from the front of her jacket.

"Maybe because the look you get when you're scared is really dumb?" Catra quipped, standing and holding a hand out toward her before adding "I'm surprised you didn't go all amazonian on me."

"I _would_ have if I didn't land on my sword." Adora retorted, accepting the help up "How _did_ you learn to do that?"

Catra debated on telling them or not—although she had a feeling that she would not live it down.

"Tell you what, I might tell you once we get to where we're going."

As they walked Adora finally got a good look at Catra—now that she wasn't being sat on—and couldn't help but notice that something _was_ different. She couldn't really _recognize_ what it was but something about how the other girl acted, it was different than what she had grown used to.

"You know, I never would have thought you would look good in green." she said after a while, earning a growl in response.

" _Don't._ I am not the one who came up with the color pattern on this thing but it was either the red with the green or red with a bright ass blue and I was not about to blind myself." Catra retorted, although hanging about her shoulders was an navy blue cape that Adora had thought was black at one point.

"So what is half-moon like? I mean I've heard stories _but_ that was before...you know." Bow asked, earning a shrug.

"It's hard to describe."

That was an understatement and Catra knew it _but_ she wasn't sure if it was safe to even talk about the hidden city outside—even if _She-Ra_ was technically with them. Another wave of silence passed over them then as they neared the broken part of the cobbled road.

"So do you think that they'll join the rebellion? I mean, I know that there is reasons that they wouldn't want to but shouldn't the queen want revenge for losing so many?" Glimmer asked suddenly and this time Catra contemplated just straight up telling her the truth.

But where was the fun in that?

"Queen Cyra can tell you more about that. As if that woman tells _me_ anything."

 _well that wasn't exactly a lie **but** close enough. _

Catra tried to drown out their conversations when they neared the ruins of Half-moon, knowing that they was probably saying the same things she had thought when she had first saw all the destruction that was left behind by her former faction.

"Is this what you meant when you said you finally understood why I left?" Adora asked, reaching out and taking Catra's arm suddenly, causing her to sigh and glance around.

"Yes and no...look. I learned _a lot_ of things here over the course of the last month. Things that I didn't really want to think about let alone face but that dose of reality is what I needed." Catra admitted before pulling open the trap door.

"Just trust me when I say this place was the best place for me."

"Remind me again why we're letting even _more_ outsiders in here?" Amur questioned, earning a glare from Cyra as she turned her attention toward the door.

"Because one is queen Angella's daughter and the other is a legendary warrior that most thought was only a fairy-tale. You can't say that you're not curious about what this She-Ra character is like." Cyra answered just as the door opened and Catra walked in.

"We finally made it back...At least it didn't rain like the mages predicted." Catra said, her lack of formality causing all three of the new comer's off guard—which told Cyra that her daughter had kept them as much out of the loop as possible.

 _Remind me to ask her why later. She claims she trusts this Adora._ Cyra mentally told herself as she stood from her throne.

"Welcome to Half-moon, We have been looking forward to finally meeting you."


	24. Chapter 24

"For the honor of Grey skull!"

Catra couldn't help but cover her ears as Adora's voice echoed through the room.

 _Say that loud enough and you'll deafen the whole freaking kingdom_. She couldn't help but think, watching as Queen Cyra's eyes widened at the transformation.

"So the rumors are true...and in the form of an horde soldier no less." Cyra commented, smirking slightly as she added "But I want to see your true power...I heard you are strong, let's see just how strong."

Catra rolled her eyes at this and leaned back, her back coming to rest along the base of the rune stone as she did so. She didn't even _notice_ the golden orange glow.

"I thought only Princesses could gain energy from the rune stones." Bow stated from where he stood by her, out of the way from everything.

"Yeah well, it's magic...and I'm a Magi-cat so..." Catra retorted, nearly wanting to hit herself for how lame that sounded but it was as good of an excuse as any.

Bow began to say something else but about the same time he went to say something Scorpia burst into the room.

"Catra! Shoot, sorry I didn't know anyone else was in here. We need your help Asap, Entrapta just found something."

Catra stiffened as she heard the sound of a sword falling to the floor.

"Entrapta? She's alive?"

 _and here comes the huge pink elephant into the room_.

Catra thought, sighing as she stood.

"Yes and she was helping the Horde before she defected. Like I said in my letters Adora, there is a lot of stuff I did that I am not proud of." Catra answered before leaving the room, knowing that she was going to have to deal with yet something else she didn't really want to.

As soon as she walked into the room the girl in question nearly plowed her over with the rolling chair she had been sitting in.

"Okay, What did you need me to come in here for?" Catra asked, easily catching the chair before either of them could end up falling to the floor.

"I need you to test a theory I have. I found nothing to factor in the lack of magic in those magi-cats that are from _both_ sub-groups. As a matter of fact even the warrior class seems to have their own form of magic...although theirs are more Primal and I need to conduct more testing to see just what kind of magic that it is." Entrapta began, causing Catra to arch a brow.

"What do you need me to do? I kinda want to watch my mom and Adora beat the shit out of each other." Catra retorted as she walked farther into the room.

"Well theoretically you should be just as capable of magic as Amur is _however_ I think it could possibly be a different kind of magic...more subtle or harder to awaken." Entrapta stated, earning a sigh from Catra who nodded.

"And again, you need me to do what exactly? Kinda on a time limit here." Catra repeated irritably.

 _I was in a good mood until Scorpia burst in...I really don't want to straight up tell Entrapta I lied to her for that long._ She thought, trying to focus on what the girl in question was saying although nothing seemed to be registering.

"Etheria to Catra, are you listening?"

Entrapta's voice finally snapped her from her thoughts.

"Entrapta, we need to talk."

That caught Entrapta by surprise because Catra _never_ sounded that commanding these days.

"what about?" She asked, watching as Catra's ears drooped slightly.

"They didn't forget about you when they left...Adora wouldn't do that. I mean she never completely gave up on _me_ even after all I did. I lied to you to get you on our side as a huge fuck you to them." Catra stated, not daring to make eye contact as she added "I'm sorry."

"I know that you want to protect your people and that the first alliance didn't work _**but**_ I wouldn't fight this hard if I didn't believe that this time it could be different! You saw how strong She-Ra is and we've beat the Horde _countless_ times now, Even with Catra's underhanded tactics against us." Glimmer said, earning a sigh from Cyra.

"I must stay here to protect my people and I dare say that I wouldn't survive the battle field again, not with my eyesight and sensitivities. If you want the Magi-Cats to be in your rebellion you're going to have to talk to my daughter." Cyra said before mentally kicking herself for almost outing Catra as her daughter.

"My mom didn't mention you had a daughter. I mean I can faintly remember you at the first alliance meetings and I remember you having a kid but I thought..." Glimmer said, trailing off.

"Yes, she was thought to be dead but she turned up a while ago in a village away from here. Imagine everyone's surprise." Cyra answered, thankful for the years of dealing with politics so that she had no trouble covering up exactly _what_ she was talking about.

"Sorry to interrupt again but Entrapta wants to talk to you three...and I think Catra would like to talk to you Cyra." Scorpia said, opening the door only enough to stick her head in.

Cyra nodded and to everyone's surprise Entrapta slipped into the room, looking obviously upset.

 _Oh gods...What on earth happened?_ Cyra wondered as she excused herself from the room, only to turn toward Scorpia and whisper "What did Catra do this time?"

Catra drove her fist repetitively into the heavy bag, ignoring the pain as her skin broke from the force. That was until a hand grabbed her wrist.

"Torturing yourself isn't going to help a damn thing." Cyra stated, eyes narrowing slightly before she sighed and released her hand "What happened? Scorpia said you stormed out and Entrapta was crying."

Catra growled at the scolding tone but still answered "I lied to her about her friends just as a way to get back at them and get Entrapta to work for the horde...I told her the truth...Everything I knew." Catra answered, turning her attention back toward the bag once again, ignoring the disapproving look she was getting.

"I can imagine she is hurt and you feel like shit but the truth is always the best course of action, even if it is painful." Cyra replied, putting a hand the girl's shoulder, only to be shrugged off.

"You didn't see her face. I don't know much about her past but I do know that she never had a lot of friends and was treated differently than most people because of her abilities and personality. I never really noticed but I started to see them as my friends at _some point_ and frankly I did the one damn thing I never wanted to do...Betray those that I care about."

Cyra was surprised by the sheer honesty that was in Catra's tone. This was so unlike her, even with the still all too new trust that was growing between them.

"Give her time and talk to her. Right now she needs space and you need to go to medical and get cleaned up before your hands infect. Next time at least use a wrap." Cyra said gingerly, understanding exactly how Catra must be feeling in that moment.

 _She is angry with herself...She can not believe that she was going down such a dark path. She does not understand that this is something everyone faces in one form or another at some point and that she was just so young and dealing with so much at that time. Then again, she would never believe me if I said anything._ Cyra thought, refraining from reacting on her own instincts because she knew it probably wouldn't go down too well with Catra.

"Yeah, you're right...I think I'll step out to clear my head a bit after." Catra responded before heading off, pausing at the door as if she wanted to say more but changing her mind.


	25. Chapter 25

"You didn't think that you would have to face the facts did you? Do you think that _**anyone**_ would want you around if they knew how much of a _monster_ you are?"

Catra flinched as she heard the words come from behind her although she didn't turn toward the speaker, choosing instead to ignore him.

"What's wrong? Can't handle the truth? The fact is, _Catra,_ you don't belong here. I bet you wouldn't have even _paused_ to wipe us out at some point if your precious leader commanded it...You'll never be more than a puppet."

Catra felt bile rise in her throat as she heard this but it was true, she knew that. She didn't belong here and who knows what would have happened if Hordak had ordered her to attack Half-moon.

 _He's right, I don't belong here...I don't really belong anywhere n Etheria._ She thought, her knuckles protesting as she balled them into tight fists as if that would help her brace against the emotions that threatened to drown her at any moment.

"Shut up Amur. Do you not think I don't know any of that? That it doesn't keep me up at night? You're right, I am a monster...I have done a lot of shit that I can never be forgiven for but you're wrong about one thing...I _knew_ I would have to deal with the effects of my own shit." Catra stated, the words coming out in a strained—almost primal—tone as she turned to face him.

"Why do I not believe that? You literally made one snap decision to save a _girl_ and you start thinking that you're not full of darkness...as if that so called princess can save you but what could anyone expect from two horde soldiers? Or rather a soldier and her crony." Amur began, however he was cut off.

"I saved Adora because I can't imagine existing in a world she isn't in...She is the closest thing I ever had to a best friend." Catra said with a snarl "Just like I saved Entrapta. Do I think that means _anything._ No, but I am not going to stand here listening to you degrade me like I am just someone's fucking _pet._ "

Amur smirked a bit at that as he regarded her words.

"Oh how pathetic, you have a crush on the girl. Just another reason that you are unfit to rule."

Realization hit Catra like a ton of bricks.

 _So that's what his fucking problem is...I am the heir._

"Do you think I wanted to be a fucking princess? **Neither** of us are fit to rule or are you too blind to your own flaws? You lost your temper while _teaching children_ and degraded them as though they were lower than dogs! Is _that_ what you think marks a good king?"

Snarling Amur rushed at her, however to his surprise she moved almost _too_ fast for him to see.

"What the hell..."

Catra was just as shocked but smirked as she glanced down at her body which had a very faint orange aura.

"I think you underestimated me, _cousin_." she retorted, sweeping his feet out from under him before adding "You know, I could really hurt you if I wanted to but you're not worth my time."

With that Catra slid the mask over her face and bolted off into the forest and only then did she allow the anger she felt turn to the pure, initial hurt that his words had summoned.

 _Pet._

 _Worthless._

 _Monster._

 _Traitor._

 _Murderer._

 _Liar._

Her brain seemed to repeat those words, each word holding more and more venom as they were cycled around inside her skull. She allowed this to fuel her speed, not stopping until she got to the ruins of Tora's former village and it was there that she removed the mask for what seemed like the first time since she had received and tossed it across the room before breaking down completely.

"She could be _anywhere_ by now. Most large cats can run up to fifty miles per hour." Entrapta stated, earning a sigh from Cyra.

"I don't know what Amur said to her but I've never even heard of her reacting like this and I've seen her lose her temper plenty of times." The queen said as she glanced down at the map, not noticing the look that Adora had on her face.

"Hold on. If Catra is still the same as she was when we were kids she's more likely to go somewhere _familiar_ that she feels safe at. Is there anywhere you can think of?" Adora questioned, turning toward Cyra who nodded.

"The old ruins in valmere. We went there together a few times and that's where she took Entrapta and Scorpia at first. That is the only place I can think of. Adora, you come with me and Kefira. Scorpia and Entrapta can stay here in case she comes back, the rest of you check along the main road in." Cyra answered "we need to find her before the storm hits...It gets cold in this area late at night and I don't want to be responsible for a bunch of kids getting pneumonia."


	26. Chapter 26

Adora knew that there was something that she was missing about this whole situation, especially since Cyra seemed concerned about Catra, even more concerned than an ruler or even a teacher would be. But what was the connection? Why was Cyra so worried?

No matter how she looked at it, Adora couldn't seem to find the answer.

"Catra sent you a lot of letters. You two must have been close." Cyra asked after a while, surprising Adora by the informal—almost nonchalant—tone.

"We _were_ , I mean we grew up together. But a lot has changed since then, you know?" Adora said, earning a smirk from the queen who glanced back at her.

"Once you win the loyalty of a Magi-cat they are usually Loyal til the end and I dare say that Catra trusts you in ways she wouldn't trust anyone else. I mean even with as much time as we've spent together since she got here she still will not open up about _anything_ of any importance."

The queen's words peaked Adora's curiosity at that.

 _Was it because of some nature over nurture instinct that Catra had saved her or did she just care? Did she see the act of Adora leaving as a breech of that loyalty?_ Adora couldn't help but wonder, making the mental note to try to pry the answers from Catra some time later.

That was if she could without pushing her away.

"You two must be close if you get even that much out of her." Adora commented, taking note of the smirk that came across Kefira's face.

"You could say that...at least as close as Catra will allow anyway." Cyra answered simply, her tail flicking against her Majordomo's torso before she added "I was wanting to ask...What was growing up in the fright zone like? She has moments where she is so distant and she refuses to talk about it."

Cyra really tried not to laugh when Adora almost tripped over in surprise.

"Well...She had it a lot rougher than I did but it wasn't all bad. I'm just surprised that she let you see that side of her. I mean we were taught to not show any sign of weakness." Adora answered, unsure of exactly what had really happened all those years ago—and not comfortable talking about what she did know.

"I gathered as much. During her first few weeks here she and I were sparring and my waster broke and the broken part cut her wrist pretty badly. She still wanted to continue training although it was obvious she was in pain." Cyra said, smiling slightly at the memory of the argument that had happened between them due to that.

"She is stubborn and uncouth but deep down she has a good heart, even if sometimes it doesn't seem like it." She added and Adora could hear the fondness in the queen's voice at that.

"I think you're the first person to ever say that about her. Maybe finally she'll start believing it." Adora replied.

Her head throbbed as she leaned back against the chipping wall. She wasn't sure how long that she had been sitting there or how long she had been crying but she knew that she couldn't go back, not like this. Not now that she had attacked Amur.

He had been right after all, She was nothing but a monster.

A monster and a liar and there was nothing that could change that. That was what the Horde had made her.

No, that is what _she_ was.

She had made her own bed and now she had to lie in it.

No matter how much she wished that she could change things now that she was looking back at them.

Closing her eyes she once again let the tears come.

 _I bet he told some story about how I attacked him. I can't ever go back, if I do I'll probably be thrown into a cage somewhere._ She thought, trying not to remember how _nice_ it had felt just being able to interact with everyone without having to worry about invoking Cyra's wrath, how it was nice to _finally_ have someone to talk to.

To finally feel as though she had belonged somewhere.

 _How could you be so stupid? How could you be so stupid to think you'd ever be anything...You were nothing but a puppet for Hordak, a pet for Adora, and a way for the magi-cats to show off. They couldn't even trust you to teach a simple training maneuver right._

It was easy for Catra to become so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't notice that her claws had began to dig into her palms or that she was no longer alone.

"Catra!"

The sudden sound of her name being called sent her into a defensive position, however she relaxed when she saw that it was Adora.

"A-Adora? What the heck are you doing here?" Catra stammered as the blonde knelt down beside of her, followed closely by Cyra who had an expression on her face that Catra couldn't identify.

"We came here because we were worried about you, dummy." Adora retorted before noticing the blood On Catra's hands. "What did you do to yourself?"

That's when Cyra noticed the blood, a hiss forming in her throat as she roughly grabbed the younger Magi-cat's hands into her own.

"Ow! Mom! Geez, I'm _fine!"_ Catra yelped, not even noticing what she had said until Adora gasped.

"Wait...She's your mom? How?" Adora questioned, earning a sigh from Catra—who was currently being drug toward the pool by Cyra.

"Yeah, I wondered the same thing and I sometimes regret coming here because _someone_ is always up my ass about something!" Catra retorted, only to hiss as her hands were roughly shoved into the cold liquid.

"You're going to think up your ass. Do you not realize how worried it made me because you bolted off like a bat out of hell? Damn it girl I just got you back, I don't want to lose you again." Cyra lectured, her voice losing it's harshness as she finished that sentence.

 _Could she really mean that? Could she actually really care about me?_ Catra wondered as she allowed the queen to treat her wounds.

"Don't, okay? Don't act like you care because nobody in their right mind would!" Catra spoke before the words could register in her brain and she instantly regretted them when she saw her mother's face.

"You think that no one cares about you? Catra, do you think that we would have come out here under the risk of getting caught in a storm if we _didn't_ care? Do you think that Mecka would have ran straight inside to tell me what had happened if he didn't care about you? Or that there wouldn't be a search party?" Cyra questioned, her tone barely above a whisper.

"And if you think I stopped caring, you're wrong. It _hurt_ having no choice but to fight you but what choice did _you_ give me? But never did I hate you...I just thought you were being a stubborn,egotistical, idiot." Adora added in and Catra would have snorted if she could get her eyes to stop burning so much.

"But how? After everything that I...I'm a _**monster.**_ " she began, Amur's words repeating themselves in her mind once again although this time Cyra's voice kept her grounded to the present.

"Catra, if you were a monster you wouldn't feel guilt. You wouldn't try so hard to prove that you had changed. No one's perfect, no matter _what_ they would have others believe and the sheer fact that you are ashamed of what you have done in the past, that you feel guilt...That is enough to tell anyone that you have a good heart."


	27. Chapter 27

Catra wanted to just head back to the bunker and put all of this out of mind but she had no choice but to stay here, where she wouldn't be out in the storm and she knew it. after all, Cyra would win any argument she brought up—like usual. Sighing she leaned back and let Kefira run a healing spell, all while trying to block out the conversation that Adora and Cyra were having across the room.

"Can't you hurry this along? It's not like I am going to bleed to death or something! They're just flesh wounds!" she complained, earning a chuckle from the other girl.

"Just relax and let me do this. I for one don't want to have to listen to Cyra yelling about you getting an infection." Kefira retorted in a whisper, earning a snort of amusement.

"What is up with everyone and being afraid of her? She isn't _**that**_ bad. I mean, it's not like she's going to blast someone across a room or something."

She couldn't help but glance over at the woman in question then, finding her sitting against one side of the building, explaining something about Magi-cat culture with animated gestures that Catra really didn't want to know the story behind.

 _She is so different than any other ruler—well besides Angella—that I've known. There is no real fear when coming in front of her and she doesn't just throw her weight around. She just seems intimidating when you don't know her_. She thought, her mind flashing back to the many times that she had been thrown across the training room—and usually into a wall—by an irritated Shadow Weaver.

And that had been the _least_ of her problems.

What if this was all a ruse? What if Shadow Weaver and the others was right all along and she was worthless? That everyone was lying to her?

She felt herself beginning to shake, a tight heaviness filling her chest as she tried to block those thoughts.

"Catra? Are you alright?" Kefira's voice sounded as though it was coming from miles away and the world seemed blurry when she looked up.

She didn't even noticed that anyone else had came over until she felt a hand gingerly laying against her shoulder, causing her to whirl around to face her, hissing.

"relax, it's just me. You're safe."

Adora knew from experience she had to be careful or else she would end up either being punched or scratched by the former lieutenant. But what could have caused this? She couldn't help but wonder, especially since the last time she had saw this kind of thing from Catra had been before they had become senior cadets. But what could have triggered this?

"What's going on?" Cyra asked, earning a sigh from Adora.

"I'll explain as soon as she calms down." Adora answered, moving closer to Catra who's fur had fluffed up as she sat there shaking. She knew that under normal circumstances she would end up getting shoved to the floor—or at least have her hand batted away. But this wasn't normal and Catra was in no position to argue right now.

So she began to run her fingers through Catra's mane of hair, lightly tracing over the base of her ears. Watching until Catra's breathing had evened out before pausing.

"What happened?"

Adora asked after a few minutes, earning a sigh from the shorter girl.

"I don't want to talk about it."

Adora noticed how Catra's eyes flickered toward Cyra—who looked just as confused about the whole thing as Catra did scared.

"Okay. But whatever is wrong, you don't have to face this alone anymore. You're not in the Horde anymore and there are people who really care about you and would be willing to help if you would just open up a little."

Catra sighed then, glancing down at her half-healed wounds before she spoke again.

"I know...It's just...I don't even know what is real anymore Adora. I'm so tired of the mind games"

Her voice quivered as she spoke, her face flushing slightly even though everyone in the room had saw her breaking down not even an hour before.

"I know but mind games are the Horde's thing...Or Shadow Weaver's and none of that is here and even if they were, this time they'd have hell to pay for doing that to you because if _**you**_ didn't kick their asses, I would." Adora responded softly.

Cyra hated that they were stuck in middle of the forest, without so much as a blanket during a storm such as the one brewing outside. But that wasn't what was keeping her awake, no. It was what she had pieced together from the few things that both Adora and Catra had told her.

 _I swear I am going to end up killing whomever did that to a group of innocent kids...No wonder Catra acts like someone's going to attack around every corner._ Cyra thought, her teeth grinding together in a silent growl as she glanced across the room at the teenagers who were practically leaning against each other asleep, covered by the cloak Catra had been wearing.

Even with the traces of heat that the magical fire-like aurora that Kefila had caste in middle of the room, it was still much cooler than it would be during the day. Sighing she glanced over at her majordomo who was snoring rather loudly by the stairway in her beast form.

 _How anyone can sleep in that form I'll never understand...the increased senses would keep me awake all night, especially in this weather._ She thought, wincing slightly as she heard the loud clap of thunder that sounded all too much like cannon fire for her liking.

She didn't know how long it had been that she had sat there, listening to the storm raging on outside of their shelter, but she did notice the drop in temperature that eventually came over the room. Sighing she glanced over at the two young women before standing standing, sliding her own mask down over her face.

The feeling of something forcing itself behind her woke Catra up, causing her to almost go into fight mode—that was until she felt the rough, cold nose press against her cheek.

"What the hell?"

she grumbled as she glanced toward the culprit only to end up with a face full of short, red, ruff as the large lion-like cat curled around both her and Adora.

"Ugh...Mom...I am not a kid..." she grumbled, although she did lean back into the warmth of her mother's side, the argument dying on her lips because she was just too tired to really care at this point.

"Thanks but I still don't like this stupid, sappy, stuff."


	28. Chapter 28

Adora wasn't surprised when she woke up before Catra but what did surprise her was the fact that both she and Catra was both was wrapped up by a large cat.

"Uh...Okay whoever you are, you're going to have to move because I'm pretty sure my leg has died." she stated, earning a sound that she was sure was a laugh as the beast unfolded itself, letting her stand.

"Sorry about that, it got cold last night and I'd rather not have anyone get sick on my watch."

The slightly raspy voice caught Adora by surprise, mostly because it hadn't occurred to her that the magi-cat's could still speak while in their beast form.

"Queen Cyra! I..." she began instantly moving to bow, although that only ended with the large creature laughing at her once again.

"Stop before you hurt yourself." Cyra teased before laying back down.

"Ugh...I swear no one can sleep around _either_ of you two." Catra grumbled from where she had been practically curled up against her mother's side, suppressing a yawn as she glared at both of them.

Adora could see how Cyra rolled her eyes before she turned and licked Catra on the cheek, earning a startled squeak as Catra's fur stood on end.

"I don't care _what_ it means or is or whatever! I thought we had an agreement on no sappy shit!" she exclaimed as she managed to leap from her resting place and moved across the room.

Adora couldn't help it, she started laughing.

"I don't think I've seen your face turn that red in your life, Catra!" she couldn't help but say.

"Shut up Adora! That's it, I'm not speaking to either of you two ever again." Catra grumbled before stalking out, nearly bumping into Kelfira in the process.

"Do I wanna know what happened while I was out?" she asked, earning a snicker from Cyra who returned to her humanoid form.

"She's too easy to mess with." the queen retorted, earning a snort of amusement from the young mage.

"Well, whatever you did just be careful. Turning _that_ red can not be good for her blood pressure."

"Come on, Catra. You would have laughed if roles were reversed, besides you literaly freaked over _**nothing!**_ I mean, parents do that sort of thing." Adora said—seemingly to herself—as she stared up into the tree, only to have a fruit to bounce off her head from somewhere in the leaves.

"is the cat still stuck in the tree? What in the world happened between you two because I swear she's been up there for two hours since you got back." Glimmer asked.

Adora debated on rather or not to tell Glimmer the whole truth, however she figured that it would come out eventually so she just snickered.

"Cyra emberassed her in front of me and I laughed...so she's basically pouting like a child." Adora retorted, managing to dodge the fruit this time.

"Shut the fuck up Adora!"

The blonde just laughed as she retorted

"Make me, fur ball! Or should I say _kitten?_ "

They could hear a sound that could only be called a mix between a growl and a groan coming from overhead.

"Adora, I swear on Catullus's mane I am going to kill you!"

"Amur, you're nineteen! An Adult for Mut's sake! It's time for you to start acting like it and I don't _care_ if she was a horde soldier, she's seven-fucking-teen and already been through more than _anyone_ should ever been through." Cyra growled as she glared across the room at her nephew, who just crossed his arms defiantly.

"So you would rather a half-baked, murderous bitch take the throne? Must I remind you that it was her kind that took away your husband and everyone else that you cared about?" Amur stated, earning a growl from not only the queen, but Kelfira as well.

"Amur, Shut up. Stop blaming someone who was little more than a _**baby**_ when that battle happened! She had a fucking panic attack of some kind last night thanks to all the shit you put in her head! It took Cyra and Adora over ten minutes to get her to stop shaking! So before you open your damn mouth maybe you should process the _effect_ of the words you decide upon!" Kelfira snapped before turning and walking out, leaving Amur standing there slack jawed.

Cyra made mental note to thank the other girl later before she continued.

"If you wish to behave like a child I shall treat you like one. Until you can be civil you are to stay in your chambers except for meal times." Cyra said, not giving him time to say anything before she left the room as well.


	29. Chapter 29

"Catra, I don't _care_ why you don't want to deal with this right now. Glimmer and the others need an answer. The Horde may be biding their time right now but who knows when and where they'll strike next."

Cyra said as she stood leaned up in the doorway to Catra's room, trying to ignore the fact that the food she had brought to her daughter over an hour prior had remained untouched and grown cold.

"What _should_ I say then, your _highness?_ That the person who tried to kill them now wants to work with them? Yeah, No. It would _never_ work." Catra retorted, earning a sigh.

"Are you actually thinking about it or are you trying to take the easy way out?" Cyra challanged before turning and leaving, knowing that she wouldn't get an answer.

 _Are you actually thinking or are you trying to take the easy way out?_ The words echoed in her head as her mind flashed back to what had happened the previous day, everything from her conversation with Entrapta to her standoff with Amur.

Letting out a groan she draped an arm over her eyes.

 _I am thinking. It's not like anyone will trust me if I reveal myself as the princess of half-moon, hell only half of half-moon seems to trust me!_

Catra was half asleep when she heard the door open.

"Catra? You asleep?"

She resisted the urge to just lie there until the all too familiar intruder went away but figured she may as wells get _something_ over with.

"What do you want...No let me guess, my _mother_ sent you in here?" She retorted, not bothering to look up until she felt the foot of her bed dip under added weight.

"yes and no. I mean, she kinda did _but_ not because she thought I could convince you to do anything. She's worried about you."

Sighing Catra sat up then, regarding the blonde before sighing.

"About what? I'm fine."

She knew that it was useless to try to lie about this, especially to Adora _but_ emotion was weakness and she would be damned if she ever showed any weakness to anyone—even her former best friend.

"Catra, I haven't seen you break down like that since we were kids. I _know_ you're not fine." Adora responded, moving closer as if to reach out for her although she stopped as soon as she realized what she was doing.

The silence felt as though it would suffocate Adora as she waited on a response, which finally came after a few minutes.

"Let me show you something."

Catra said, standing and grabbing Adora's arm, pulling her along.

Adora wasn't sure what she was being led to until she found herself standing in an hidden chamber, surrounded by towering statues.

"This is the hall of memories...All of these statues serve as memorials to those lost during the fall of Half-Moon," Catra began, closing her eyes as she continued to walk through the tunnel

"You didn't see active duty Adora. How easily could there be places like _**this**_ that was left behind by _**me?**_ How many kids did I put in the ground or in the funeral pyre? How many kids are having the same shitty childhood that we did because of me?"

Adora didn't know what to say to that, although she put a hand on Catra's shoulder.

"Hey, you saved me and you saved Entrapta. That has to mean something right?" she said, watching as Catra's ears folded back as she glanced away.

"The only thing it means is that I was still loyal to both of you. It doesn't make me a good person, Adora." Catra responded, her tail wrapping around her waist as she crossed her arms, shrugging the Adora's hand away.

"Well _bad people_ don't feel guilt Catra. Shadow Weaver never even thought _twice_ about any of the stuff she'd do to us, to you. Shadow Weaver wouldn't help anyone and you know that. Just because you've done terrible things doesn't make you a terrible person."

The mention of the bane of her childhood caused a chill to run down Catra's spine and she did her best not to shudder. Phantom pains of electrical magic and physical blows running through her body as her nerves reminded her of the past. But she did her best to ignore it as she turned her attention back toward Adora.

"Easy for you to say...You can turn into some kind of goddess that everyone loves." she said, only to feel Adora's hand gingerly take hers'.

"Do you think that this war is easy on the rest of us Catra? Do you think that I don't know that there are still good in a lot of the people in the horde? People who grew up there, like Lonnie or Kyle? Do you know how many times after a battle I would scan the carnage praying that I wouldn't find the face of anyone that I once considered a friend?"

That caught Catra's attention.

 _How could I forget that she was really popular in the cadet groups? How could I just assume she stopped caring just because she became a princess. It had to be hell for her to go through all of that time after time, wondering if someone she cared about died at her hand._

The realization made her stomach churn because she really wouldn't wish that kind of feeling on anyone. Adora had always been a lot more emotional than she was after all, so the experience must have been harder to swallow.

"It's like Cyra says, no one wins a war." Catra said after a while as she glanced toward the door, contemplating what her next course of action should me.

 _Either I join the rebellion and fight for freedom—which is truly the only thing I ever wanted—or I stay here underground and hope that the runestones they have are enough to defeat Hordak._

"Fine, I'll come to the banquet tonight but on two conditions: One, I do things my own way and two, you help me train because I _know_ how strong She-Ra is and frankly I want to be able to kill Hordak my self and I need to have a strong sparring partner for that."


	30. Chapter 30

Catra sighed as she paused outside of the makeshift lab that also acted as the bedroom of both Entrapta and Scorpia—although how the latter could sleep while the former worked was beyond her—and for the first time she was honestly _nervous_ about entering that room.

Especially since she knew that this could go bad very easily.

 _Get a grip Catra, Entrapta is literally five foot two and weighs a lot less than you do._ She mentally told herself before opening the door.

Entrapta was sitting at the makeshift work bench, the arc of a welder flying around her, which would have been normal if the girl in question wasn't using her hands..

"Can we talk?" Catra asked after a few minutes, waiting in the doorway for a response, only to be met by a long stretch of silence before the purple haired girl spoke—not bothering to turn to face her.

"I can't believe I trusted you."

Those words hurt a lot more than they should have, especially since Catra knew that they were true. Entrapta _shouldn't_ have trusted her but she had used the girl's naivety to manipulate her into turning on the people she had called her friends.

She didn't even have a response to that.

"I honestly thought we were friends but I guess I was just the means to an end, huh? After all who would want to befriend some kind of mutant."

Entrapta continued after a few minutes, her whole demeanor seeming drained of energy—something that really felt off.

"I'm not making any excuses for what I did but I will say that I was a danger to everyone, including myself back then. But I will say this, I _did_ think of you as a friend...after some time." Catra finally admitted, earning a sigh.

"Do you know how many _friends_ I tried to make before I finally gave up? As a child I tried to fit in, but my powers and personality was both just too strange for them...I was just too odd. That's when I turned to my robots because at least _they_ could understand...At least _they wouldn't leave_." Entrapta said, voice dropping even farther.

"You're eccentric and you talk too fast but you want to know what stands out about you? You're smart, smarter than **anyone** I've ever met and you've got this determination and energy about you which is basically a part of your charm. I know you probably don't believe me after all the shit I have done to you but I truly think that."

Catra stated and for what felt like the first time—it was the complete truth.

To Catra's relief Entrapta turned toward her, her expression drawn into something akin to that of a kicked puppy.

"You don't really mean that."

She stated, earning a sigh from Catra who closed her eyes for a second, as if to brace herself to say what came out of her mouth next.

"I do actually. It doesn't matter if you have parts of yourself that people find as odd, or in my mom's case—intimidating. Everyone has things about them that makes them different, I mean Adora turns into a glowing, eight foot tall gladiator, Glimmer glows, Bow doesn't have powers yet he manages to be a threat, Scorpia has her venom, and growing up the _only_ thing I liked about being myself was my reflexes. My point is, Everyone has something to make them different and it's not a bad thing."

Entrapta seemed to think on this for a while before asking in a slightly amused voice

"Queen Cyra finds me intimidating?"

 _of course this is what she'd pick up from that rant._ Catra thought before chuckling

"That's why she was acting so weird around you at first...The fact that you can lift a lot of weight up with your hair freaked her out but that didn't stop her from getting to know you, now did it?"

"Ugh, I thought you said that the princess was supposed to meet us here an half hour ago." Glimmer complained as she fell back onto the plush sofa in the lounge area.

"She had something she had to take care of first. She'll be here." Adora responded, glancing at the clock before sighing wondering how many times she would—once again—end up vouching for Catra and her lack of time management skills.

"By the way Adora, when did you get to meet her anyway? I mean, neither of us have seen even a glimpse at anyone who could be a princess." Glimmer questioned, earning a chuckle.

"Because the princess is being a dramatic asshole and Cyra is just playing along." Adora answered, smirking at that thought.

 _Catra's still Catra even after all this time. I guess some things really never do change_.

She couldn't help but think as she recalled how many times that the Magi-cat in question had pulled similar stunts when they were children.

 _I wonder how things went with Entrapta? Catra actually seemed genuine about regretting everything. She's always been good at hiding her feelings until they almost burst out...Whatever happened that she isn't telling anyone must have really sent her over the edge._

She couldn't help but run a multitude of scenarios through her head as she tried to figure out what it could have been the catalyst for everything that was happening with Catra. From the almost empathetic reactions and panic attacks, to the apologies. However before she could even come close to a logical conclution the sound of the door opening drew her from her thoughts.

"Sorry for the hold up."

As realization dawned on the other two in the room, Adora tried to prepare herself to defuse any kind of situation should it arise as she watched her friends reactions.

Glimmer's eyes went wide when she realized what wasn't being said before she groaned and face palmed.

'Don't tell me _you're_ the princess!" She exclaimed at the same time that Bow shouted

"I knew it!"


	31. Chapter 31

_Will these kids succeed where we failed?_

The question seemed to haunt Cyra's thoughts at dinner that night, listening to Glimmer run over plans about how they could divide Catra's time between Half-moon and Bright-moon and of the training that they all could use.

Training that Catra had suggested using the Simulation rooms at Half-Moon for.

 _Will they really be able to win this thing? How many more people must die because of this senseless fighting?_

The more she thought about it, the more she could smell the scents of a funeral pyre and see the bodies of her people spread around her.

 _I am so tired of this...I can't lose anyone else but I can't forbid Catra to fight either._

"Are you alright?" Anu asked from where he sat beside her, earning a sigh from the queen who nodded.

"Just thinking too much...and I don't know how I feel about them training here because if they're anything like Catra, they'll probably blow something up." Cyra answered as she took a drink of wine before adding: "plus there is Amur...who has already stated his opinions about the rebellion and on Catra's involvement."

"Well look on the bright side. He won't be able to intimidate them the way he is trying to do with the others." Anu retorted although his joke seemed to fall flat.

"I am afraid he's going to challenge Catra for the throne and I don't want to see either of them hurt but with his knowledge of the laws both old and new...I fear it will come to that." Cyra stated, earning a smirk.

"I doubt he'll be able to lay a hand on her...Remember what Mecka and Kaz told us about what they saw when Amur challenged her outside? Well the Princess of Dryl has a theory I think you should hear." Anu answered simply, taking note of how Cyra's brow drew together.

"You've been helping Entrapta with her project haven't you?" the queen questioned, earning a light laugh.

"It's not everyday that you meet someone who questions everything or is nearly half that intelligent." his answer came, earning a groan from the queen.

"Do I even want to know?"

Catra sighed as she made her way into the lowermost levels of the compound. She had only been there once and had found a room made entirely of some form of black and blue crystal—a room that Amur had told her was forbidden. She wondered why, but it was quiet and she wasn't disturbed by anyone.

So, of course this was where she would go whenever the nightmares became to much.

After all who even be this far down in a place covered in dust and the only light being the faint, blue-green glow of the crystal that the room was carved out of?

Besides, she had more important things to worry about.

Like the rebellion.

Had she made the right decision to join the alliance? She had wanted to get revenge both for herself and for those she had seen killed that day.

But was that the right decision? Would this put the other magi-cats in danger?

She didn't think she could handle seeing anyone else she cared about hurt or worse because of a decision she had made. Plus, she really hadn't asked Cyra about half of the things she had been discussing at dinner and had no idea how to even bring it up with the woman.

 _I am so screwed_.

She thought as she leaned back against the cold material that made up the wall.

 _I just hope that I didn't manage to tick her off in some way. She was acting kinda weird after dinner. Maybe Amur is right...Maybe I'm not cut out for this sort of thing. But he can't be completely right about everything...I was good enough to make lieutenant in a much harsher environment and I know I don't have a crush on Adora. That's just stupid._


	32. Chapter 32

"what are you doing in here?"

Turning toward the strange voice Catra wondered why she hadn't heard the door open.

"Why is it any of your business?" she retorted, hearing a chuckle from the elderly man who just continued into the room, the corners of his lips turning up as he regarded her with Grey-green eyes.

"Simmer down, I was merely asking. Cyra doesn't want people finding this place and all for good reason, although she wouldn't be so quick to be superstitious if she understood just what it is that this place is capable of in the hands of the right mage." the old man retorted as he ventured further into the room.

That got Catra's attention.

"Okay old man, just what exactly is this place and why doesn't my mom want anyone in here?" she asked, watching as the elder's ears folded back slightly before he answered .

"Tora was a geomancer which was a rare thing then and even rarer now and by channeling his energies through the labradorite that makes up this room he could gain some level of clairvoyance. But he grew to rely too much on that power...to the point where it almost consumed him."

"So she is basically blaming the room for my father's lack of self control." Catra retorted, rolling her eyes which caused the man to chuckle.

"It seems you are a lot like her and perhaps it is easier for her to pretend that she didn't brush off his worries about an attack than face the fact that he could very well have predicted it."

Catra really didn't know what to believe as she had heard this but she knew one thing was for certain. On those sleepless nights when they would stay up talking, it would have really helped for her to hear _that_ particular confession coming from Cyra's mouth.

"She didn't believe him?" she questioned, earning a sigh.

"Cyra is not a very mystic person. She may believe in certain things involving religion however things as rare as clairvoyance she did not believe in. Although both you and that friend of yours are proof that sometimes, even the most outlandish of stories hold some truth."

Cyra knew something was wrong when she walked into her study to find Catra sitting on the desk, tail practically wrapped around herself.

"What do you want at this hour?" Cyra asked, suppressing a yawn although Catra didn't answer straight away, although when she did the words cut the queen to her core.

"Why didn't you tell me that dad was a clairvoyant? Is that why you never really talked about him? Because you didn't want to believe in him? Because you wanted people to think you were perfect?"

Catra didn't dare make eye contact when she asked this, afraid to know the answer—or see her mother's reaction.

"do you think it is easy for me to admit that?" Cyra responded, her voice dipping low although there was no danger under the tone.

"Do you think I didn't blame myself for everything? He saw bits and pieces of things, things that didn't make sense even to him so of course I wrote it off. Do I wish that I would have taken it more seriously? Every day."

Cyra sighed then and turned toward the doorway, not bothering to look back.

 _What could have brought this on? What could have brought this whole thing on? Who could have told her about it because Amur is off with the patrol today._ Cyra wondered, trying to stop herself from shaking as she leaned against the wall.


	33. Chapter 33

"I swear Cyra is just as two faced as Shadow Weaver! I mean, it's _not_ the fact that she has a past but it would have really fucking helped to hear about someone who is so... _together.._.Fucking up once in a while, you know?"

Adora wasn't sure what to think about the blunt honesty of the words coming out of Catra's mouth as she and her rival—former rival? She wasn't sure what they were at this point—sparred in the training room, not really _trying_ very hard since Catra had just said she needed to hit something and Adora had been so bored that she had quickly agreed.

She hadn't expected Catra to rant to her about how Cyra wouldn't even be _honest_ with her about anything, which Adora didn't thing was completely true since the woman seemed to be a lot more open than _most_ of the adults that she had known.

"Why don't you just try talking to her about it?" Adora questioned as she dodged a punch sent in her direction by Catra, who growled at the suggestion.

"Yeah, how about no? I mean, she basically lied to my face. Now shut up and come at me with everything you've got."

Catra's response got an eye roll from Adora who did as asked, although she was not about to let this drop. Especially not when Catra had seemed to be happy before this—whatever it even was—had happened between Catra and Cyra.

"Do you ever think that it was _**hard**_ for her to talk about it? I mean, would _**you**_ want to talk about something when you felt responsible for the death of people you cared about?" Adora retorted, barely dodging a sweeping kick as Catra glared up at her.

"It's a good thing I don't care about anyone then." Catra said, only to yelp when Adora grabbed her tail—catching her off guard—and throwing her balance.

"Sure you don't."

Catra just bared her teeth at that.

"Shut up and stop fighting dirty!"

"If you're so tough, make me."

Both girls lost a sense of time as they fought, realizing that the motions were like the workings of a well oiled machine.

"You know, I missed this...Not us fighting but...Just _this."_ Adora said after a while, earning a smirk from the shorter girl who rolled her eyes.

"Ugh...Gag. Stop with the sappy stuff already. It's not like I missed you too or anything." Catra quipped, using that slight lapse of the blonde's attention to throw her backward into the wall, pinning her there with a smirk.

"Although I like it better now that I know I can kick your ass."

Neither of them had heard the door open until someone cleared their throat.

"Okay, I have no problem with it but for the love of the multiverse, take your kinky crap some place private!"

Adora didn't give Catra any warning as she shoved her away, both of their faces turning crimson at the suggestion.

"That is not what happened!"

She was surprised that they had both exclaimed that at the same time, although that had only earned an arched brow from the armor clad Magi-cat who cast them a crooked smile.

"You two sure about that? I mean, no one is going to _care_ if that's what you're worried about."

By this point, Adora could easily tell that Catra and this girl knew each other and Catra's response only seemed to solidify that theory.

"Shut up Pisica! I do not like her like _that_!"

She watched as Catra's face turned four different shades of red as a strange choked growl came from her chest.

"Shut up Pisica! I do not like her like _that!"_

Anu knew something was wrong when he had walked into the throne room that morning and saw Cyra sitting there with bloodshot eyes and an unkempt appearance—something that he had not seen from the woman since right after the fall of her kingdom.

"You've been drinking." he said, not even bothering with formalities as he walked over to her.

"I had a lot on my mind...Catra found out about Tora..." the queen responded and suddenly it made sense.

"Cyra, you know that wasn't your fault. Neither of you or Tora knew what was about to happen!" he said, his tone raising as he regarded the younger woman before him, earning a growl from her as she whirled around to face him.

"She thinks I fucking killed her father! How the fuck do you think that makes me feel?"

the queen demanded, her voice breaking as she slammed her fist down onto the arm of her throne before she added in a lower tone:

"Maybe she's right...Maybe their blood is on my hands."

The old man just set his jaw as her heard that, his tail unfolding itself from his waist and lashing about.

"Then you're a fool. You fought alongside them...You was willing to throw everything away in order to protect your people. You almost died Cyra, not only on the battle field but because of the darkness that kept growing inside you. That guilt that you felt." he reminded her, his voice dropping to a growl as he added:

"You need to talk to that girl...Help her _understand_ what happened. Catra may be stubborn but she cares about you...Even someone as half-blind as I am can see it!"

He knew that her temper wasn't the best whenever she had been drinking—especially that much—but in that moment he didn't care.

"What would you know? The girl barely knows me!" Cyra snarled.

Anu knew that was true _but_ he had also watched their sparring sessions and could tell the difference in Catra's actions as time went on.

"Do you think that if she didn't care about you that she wouldn't have been so hurt when she thought you were ignoring her? That she would have asked if you were alright during your rougher sparring sessions?" He questioned, hearing the monarch growl.

"Shut up and get out of my sight before I have your tongue old man!" She ordered, earning a scoff.

"As if you _could._ You may be queen but _rank_ does not equal _wisdom._ " Anu retorted before turning and walking away, leaving her there to stew in her own thoughts.


	34. Chapter 34

"Come on Catra, you're being ridiculous." Adora said as she glared up at Catra who was once again up a tree, glaring up at the starry sky as her tail flicked and twisted just an inch or so above Adora's head.

"give me one fucking reason I shouldn't just leave?" Catra retorted, earning a scoff from Glimmer—who had been leaning against a tree nearby.

"Because what will running away from your problems solve?"

Glimmer could see a glowing glare coming from the low hanging branch, which she ignored.

"I don't need any advice from someone who looks like a walking cupcake, _princess_ sparkles." Catra's voice drawled.

"Guys, **don't.** " Adora intervened before Glimmer could either throw an insult—or a energy blast—toward Catra. "I agree with Glimmer that running off wont solve anything and you seem happier here than I've ever seen you."

Catra let out a huff of air before leaping from her perch.

"Whatever. I'm going for a walk, _don't_ wait up."

Catra didn't wait for a response before she shapeshifted and rushed off, closing her eyes as she pushed herself harder than she had _ever_ pushed in that form, feeling the ground practically gliding beneath her paws. But even with the distraction of the burn in her muscles she still felt as though she was going insane, that she had too many questions inside her head. She just wished that she could block everything out.

But she couldn't and she had to find a way to deal with it.

But one thing she was _sure of_ was that she couldn't just run away—she wasn't a coward after all, nor could she stand the thought of leaving the people who had given her a second chance.

 _Adora and Glimmer's right...I can't just leave. But how do I know that trusting Cyra wont blow up in my face? How do I know that I won't just be hurt again? I mean, just because Adora didn't_ _ **mean**_ _to turn her back on me doesn't mean that it didn't feel like it and no one else has ever cared. Why would someone I met only a few months ago? Sure, she may be my Mom_ _ **but**_ _that doesn't mean anything at all, does it?_

Letting out a huff she rushed on, ignoring everything around her as she tried to get lost in the moment, the wind whipping around her, not wanting to think about it in that moment.

Adora was surprised when Catra drug in around midnight, covered in mud and scratched up.

"What in the universe happened to you?" she asked, rushing over toward the other girl who shrugged her off, ears pinning slightly.

"Don't ask. I'll tell you all about it after I get this gunk off me." Catra retorted, slinking on inside the compound and toward the shower area, only to appear ten minutes later and tossing a brush to Adora.

"make yourself useful."

Adora couldn't help but laugh aloud at Catra's attempt at being subtle.

"And again you're too lazy to even brush your hair." she quipped as she moved to let Catra to sit on the sofa in front of her.

"Oh shut up."

Adora couldn't help but think how familiar that this whole thing was. How many times had they been in similar positions to this while growing up in the fright zone? Her reminiscing was interrupted only by Catra leaning back into the touch, a deep rumble vibrating inside her slender frame.

It was cute, she had to admit—not that she would ever dare to tell Catra that.

"How is it that your hair is so soft and fluffy, especially after you wash it?" she asked, earning a grunted response that she knew meant something akin to 'I don't know'.

Catra closed her eyes as she felt the brush being replaced by fingers, the familiar motions mixing with her exhaustion and she found herself dozing.

"Hey, you should go to bed because that position can _not_ be comfortable." Adora's voice suddenly said, snapping her awake—or at least partially—although Catra just let out a low growl as she leaned back, smirking slightly as she retorted:

"I'm fine and you're comfy so I'm not moving."

"and you're squishing me...How about this, you can sleep in my room tonight if you'll just get off me."

Adora's statement made heat crawl into Catra's face, her mind threatening to short circuit at the implication.

"I'm not some kind of pet and I don't _need_ a babysitter or something!" she exclaimed, bristling slightly although Adora just laughed.

"I never said you were, I just know how hard it was to adapt to sleeping alone and since you're kinda...lost right now...I just thought I'd offer."

 _Things won't ever be the same between us because we've done and said too much shit to each other. I've straight up betrayed her multiple times...but then why does it feel so right being here with her like this?_

"Fine. I don't care _where_ I sleep as long as I get to sleep."

Catra eventually gave in, standing with a wince, which didn't go unnoticed by Adora.

"You're hurt."

It wasn't a question and Catra knew it—and she also could remember that she couldn't lie about anything to Adora, not really.

She could read her too well.

"I fell, I'm fine. Jeez, Shadow Weaver would do a lot worse to me. Relax Adorka." The feline responded, unable to hide her amusement when she heard the huff of annoyance from the blonde.

"Yeah well you don't have to act like you have an icicle up your ass anymore. Not here, not now. Don't think I don't remember that you're the same girl who refused to sleep alone because of nightmares. I know you're not _emotionless_." Adora reminded her, only to be ignored once again as Catra continued on her way toward Adora's chambers.

"Ugh, why do you have to be so damn stubborn?"

Adora questioned as she moved to catch up with her.


	35. Chapter 35

Catra awoke before daybreak and despite having only a few hours of sleep—and having a sore shoulder—headed back down the familiar path to the labradorite room, only to find Entrapta, Cyra and the old man that had explained everything to her standing in middle of the room.

"What's going on?" she asked, not even flinching when Entrapta rushed over to her, talking so fast about _something_ that she couldn't quite understand what had gotten her so excited.

"The increased speed that you experienced seems to be a latent form of magical ability...and Entrapta wants to try to tap into this rooms magic as well as the sub-magical ability inside us. Dillion is our oldest mage here and has never fathomed this." Cyra explained, earning a sigh from Catra.

"And I assume that Entrapta's plan involves me...Which is why you three are in here." Catra retorted, crossing her arms as she glanced over at Entrapta who had went back over to some kind of contraption that was connected to the wall.

"Yes, if you feel up for it." Dillion stated, glancing between the queen and princess as if to say 'you two need this.'

Catra sighed, glancing over at Cyra before nodding and said.

"Let's get this over with."

Catra was amazed at how easy it was to spar with Cyra, to end up falling into a comfortable pattern. Catra couldn't help but smile as she clashed with her mother, who seemed to be enjoying this just as much as Catra did.

They both were too preoccupied by their sparring match that neither noticed the odd glow that the room took or that they both had began to glow in various shades of orange—with Cyra's being more a shade of blood orange compared to the lighter orange of Catra.

At least not until Catra's sword was knocked from her hand and she was knocked backward into a wall and pain shot through her shoulder and back, eliciting a scream from the younger magi-cat.

"Oh my gosh, Catra are you okay?"

She heard the panic in Cyra's tone before she rushed over to her.

"Yeah, I just jacked up my shoulder last night while out for a run." Catra responded, trying to pull herself back to her feet however she ended up sitting back down because her stomach felt as though she was about to be sick from the pain.

"Let me see."

Catra didn't want to deal with all of that, _but_ she knew that she probably should since it was either Cyra or Dillion and she didn't exactly trust the old man quite enough.

"Fine just _**don't**_ touch." Catra said, earning a nod.

She heard the fabric ripping and felt a gentle prod against her shoulder.

"I am so sorry...I didn't mean..." Cyra began, pausing only to gently brush a stand of hair from the younger girl's face before adding "We're going to have to have your shoulder relocated...and I am not letting you stay awake for it but I need you to trust me, okay?"

Catra wasn't sure if she could after everything _but_ she also knew that this was a freak accident and that she had actually hurt herself the night before. But to trust someone to use magic on her to put her in a sleep like state? The thought alone sent shivers down her spine.

"Either have Scorpia sting me _or_ just do it. I don't trust magic and it has nothing to do with you." Catra answered bluntly, wincing as she moved to stand again.

"You know Scorpia won't do anything to hurt you. She nearly _cried_ when she accidentally made you twist your ankle that time." Entrapta pointed out, earning a glare from Catra before the teenaged feline turned her attention back to Cyra.

"Looks like the only option is to just get it over with. I can take it...I promise. It's not like I can't take some kind of pain killer afterwards." Catra stated but Cyra shook her head.

"No. I am not going to hurt you. I already did enough of that without meaning to." the queen responded and Catra knew she wasn't just talking about just shoving her halfway across a room.

"Mom, out of everyone here I think I trust you the most to know what you're doing."

"What did you mean you don't trust magic?" Cyra asked softly some time later as she sat beside Catra's bed.

One part of her figured that this was a sensitive topic and that her daughter wouldn't want to since the past was a seemingly taboo topic. However to her surprise—this time—Catra just shifted to look at her.

"that was one of the ways that the horde's lieutenant before me punished us...Or more often than not...Me. Sometimes she'd make us live our biggest fears—get inside of our heads and basically try to manipulate us into believing whatever it was...and that was just the _mild_ forms of punishment. If she was really in a bad mood she would layer punishments on top of each other...that was the case with me most of the time." Catra answered and Cyra had to wonder if it was the nepeta tea—which was given to her for the pain—that had caused her to open up.

Whatever it was, the teen's words made her skin crawl.

 _No wonder she would flinch away from everyone and acted so weird around me those first few weeks._ Cyra realized, trying not to let her anger at what she was hearing bubble to the surface.

"Is that why you don't exactly like completely dark spaces?"

The queen questioned, earning watching as Catra's face flushed at the question.

"She used to lock me in this really cramped, dark, metal room...Sometimes she would leave me in there for days and I was lucky if she didn't use that shadow magic of hers to make me think I was dying...usually by drowning since I hated getting wet _and_ it was easy to make that illusion."

Catra replied, closing her eyes as if to fight off memories that she didn't want to resurface and Cyra found herself reacting without thinking, moving to put her hand on Catra's good arm.

"I am so sorry you went through that...I wish I had known...I would have tried to get you back...I would have..." She began, only to feel a hand grip hers.

"don't. You would have been killed and it worked out in the end, didn't it?" Catra said

Cyra couldn't help but hug the girl then, earning a squeak although Catra didn't pull away.

"ugh...Mom, I thought we had an agreement about no sappy shit." she complained, although Cyra could tell it was halfhearted.

"hush. After the crap you just told me, I dare say we both need this...Even if you do hate me."

She felt Catra stiffen farther, the words the teen saying next surprising her.

"I don't hate you. I just wish you had told me about what happened with Dad when I was trying to deal with all that guilt but I understand why you didn't."


	36. Chapter 36

"Catra, I didn't tell you because on top of everything I guess I didn't want to have to have you believing that I had killed your father." Cyra confessed, earning a scoff as Catra curled a bit closer against her side—the effects of the pain killing tea seeming to finally set in and making her less guarded.

"I have no room to judge." Catra stated drowsily "At least you didn't stab your best friend in the back literally."

Cyra glanced down at the teenager, watching as her expression crumbled.

"By the roar I was so awful...How can Adora even _look_ at me after everything I did."

Cyra had no idea how to deal with this sudden display of emotion from the usually aloof teenager. Shifting slightly she began to run her fingers through Catra's hair, earning a purr from the smaller girl who leaned into the touch.

"Other races besides us Magi-cats are capable of infrangible loyalty. Seems to me like Adora really cares about you." she replied, smiling a bit before adding "and it's obvious you care about her."

"Well duh."

Cyra couldn't help but laugh softly at the girl's slightly slurred words, the usual attitude coming out as much more childish than her usual attempted nonchalance.

"You probably should try to get some sleep. That tea is really effecting you." the queen stated, earning a grumble from the girl.

"I'm fine...Besides, you're not going anywhere, you're comfortable." Catra responded and this time Cyra couldn't help but laugh aloud.

"How about this. You get some sleep...I'll stay right here until you wake up and kick me out?"

Catra woke up sometime later, feeling both stiff and sore but also almost incredibly warm, which surprised her since she made a point to keep her room on the cooler side of things but it didn't take her long to realize where the extra heat was coming from.

The fact that she wasn't alone.

 _What the...ugh please tell me I didn't do what I think I did._ She thought with a huff as she pulled back slightly _Ugh...Whatever that stuff was she gave me made me act like a freakin' kid._ She thought, although she couldn't stop that one part of her that thought of how good it felt to actually be able to get near someone without the fear of being pushed away—either literally or figuratively—so she slowly moved to return to her place beside of her mother.

 _It's not like anyone else is going to see this...and I can always blame the tea._

Meanwhile Adora stood in middle of the training room, trying _not_ to show too much of her power off despite the fact that she was basically being _begged_ by a group of school-aged children.

"No wonder Princess Catra talks so much about you. That sword must be able to cut through _**anything."**_ one girl that Adora recalled was called Kissa said, catching Adora off guard.

"Wait, Catra talks about me?"

she asked, reverting from her 'She-Ra' form as she turned her attention on the girl.

"Oh please, she told us all about you being the only person who could beat her." A boy, Mecka retorted, crossing his arms before smirking "She told us _everything_ including that you forgave her for a lot of crap. To be honest it was kinda gross how much she did talk about you."

"I think she has a crush on you to be honest." One of the older kittens stated from the back of the room, earning a glare from Kissa

"Don't say something like that Kaz, you could get Catra in trouble!" she stated, catching Adora by surprise

"I doubt Catra likes me like _that_ but what do you mean that she could get into trouble?" Adora questioned as Kaz scoffed.

"There's this old rule that royals had to continue the bloodline or whatever but I doubt Queen Cyra would even _care_ about that because after all, she did marry a mage from one of the villages besides anyone from an elite family." Kaz answered almost nonchalantly as he leaped up onto one of the obsticals in the room, crouching there as he glanced over to the door "The only one that would care really is that bastard Amur."

"isn't that Catra's cousin? Why would he care?" The whole concept behind the magi-cat's culture was starting to sound even more complicated than it had in Catra's letters.

"Because he's the mutt that wants to be king when he can't even _fight_ without his magic. Not to mention he sucks as a teacher...Like seriously we would have been sitting ducks had it not been for Catra coming in to teach us."

"Wait Catra teaches classes? I thought Scorpia was the one over that?" Adora couldn't help but question. After all, Catra really didn't get on well with most people _and_ she didn't know a thing about kids and that was without even mentioning the fact that Shadow Weaver had not been the best teacher either.

"Scorpia helps since Amur is still basically on grunt duty." another girl in the group responded

"Either of those two are a better teacher than Amur. I mean, at least they _show_ us what to do besides just _telling_ us. Catra's wicked good at finding weak points and helping us get stronger. Like my balance isn't the best but it's slowly getting better." Kissa said and for the first time Adora really understood just how different Catra was compared to what she expected.

"I never would have thought that Catra would be good with teaching anyone anything." she confessed, thinking back to what Catra had said all that time ago inside the first one's temple.

" _yeah well you never really had much faith in me_."

Adora knew that she wasn't completely blameless in the whole thing with Catra, that she could have tried harder—did more—but that really hadn't changed much had it? She hadn't trusted Catra to really change, despite knowing that there was good inside of her.

"She's rough and a smart ass _but_ she's not cruel. Hell, she won't even spar with us without using protective gear." Kaz snapped her out of her thoughts by saying, although this brought back memories from the fright zone.

 _Catra had her wrist broken once by Lonnie during a sparring session. We only had those armor plates over our torso that basically just told us if we were out of the game or not._ Adora realized _she learned how **not** to do things based on how it affected her in the fright zone. She doesn't want these kids to feel like she had._


	37. Chapter 37

"Are you sure you're up for it? I mean it has only been two days since you injured your shoulder." Cyra said, earning a scoff from Catra who glanced across the room at Amur, who sent her a look that was somewhat between a smirk and a sneer.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Besides Adora agreed to help me teach the class...and ask _**anyone.**_ I'm a better teacher than Mr. over there." Catra retorted, earning a growl from her cousin who took a step toward her.

"Shut your mouth! They only like you because you let them do whatever the blazes they want! You don't even know what it means to be a Magi-Cat!" he snarled.

Catra tried not to let it show that is accusation didn't hurt because after all, that was sort of true.

Cyra opened her mouth to speak but before she could, Catra had turned toward him—smirking before putting her hands on her hips.

"You really want to know something Amur? Some people may think they are champagne in a crystal glass but in reality they are just hot piss in a plastic cup and for your information, you're not champagne or even _close_ to anything similar."

Cyra had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing at that particular response.

"Yeah well you're..." Amur began to try to respond, only to get flustered which only caused Catra's smirk to grow bigger.

"That I'm some kind of half bottled, shitty whiskey? Yeah, I think _everyone_ knows that by now Amur...gonna have to come up with something better than that."

After Amur left the room, mumbling to himself Cyra allowed herself to chuckle.

"That was an awful thing to say to—about—him." she said, although there was no way she could hide the amusement she had at the rather odd insults.

Catra just shrugged "He has given me hell ever since we found out I was the prin...Heir. I think it was high time I gave him a dose of his own meds. Now, if you will excuse me I have a group of munchkins to scar for life."

Cyra watched as Catra left, waiting until she was well out of earshot before she actually burst into laughter.

"where the hell does that girl get some of the shit she says?" she asked out loud to no one in particular as she shook her head.

"Come on, the kids are faster than you are!" Catra laughed as she stared down from the mountain of metal rods and rope, watching as Adora struggled to untangle herself from one of the ropes.

"Yeah, well unlike _some_ people I don't have liquid bones or superhuman reflexes!" Adora retorted with a huff.

"Uh-huh, sure Adora. Whatever helps you sleep at night." Catra said, much to the amusement of the class that she had been trying to teach.

"I think you need to give the mighty She-Ra a private lesson, Princess." Kaz stated, causing everyone else to start giggling at the implication, only for him to be knocked off of his perch by a well aimed rubber ball that Catra had brought to use in their training.

"Shut up with this princess crap you little brat." Catra retorted, smirking as he hit the water beneath the obstacle course.

Adora couldn't help but chuckle at the interaction between Catra and the ten year old.

"You know, I never expected you to be a teacher to anybody...Let alone to a group of seven through ten year olds." she stated as Catra slid down one of the ropes, holding a hand out toward her.

" Yeah well it was either teaching them or letting Amur fuck up. Now come on, let me help you out of that mess you've gotten yourself in." Catra retorted.

"You know we have _got_ to stop having these kinds of scenarios happen with us." Adora retorted, letting Catra pull her up.

"Yeah..." Catra drawled, mind seeming to wonder for a bit before she added "about what happened in the temple...I...I didn't really want you to die...I just...I wanted to surpass you...I really couldn't sleep the night after that—thinking that I had."

Adora was surprised by the sudden honesty although she just smiled a bit.

"I never thought you'd actually ever apologize for anything either." She stated, watching as Catra went ridged—and slightly puffy.

"Oh shut up before I shove you into the pool too." Catra quipped before bolting off toward the top of the contraption before adding "Kids, the rest of you can go...Class is ending early today."

"You know, I never really realized how bad that it got for you with Shadow Weaver. I mean she was terrible with _everyone._ I mean even I was afraid of her but I just thought that was how the world worked...and I'm sorry I never really tried to do anything to..." Adora began sometime later after finally managing to climb up to the top where Catra was sitting.

"Yeah well _that_ is one thing I don't want to talk about. We were kids so let it go." Catra responded, not even glancing away from whatever it was she was staring out, her tail twitching ever once in a while—something Adora knew meant she was thinking hard about something.

"Catra, what happened to you was awful and I was a terrible friend and..." 

Adora didn't get to finish that sentence before she found herself plummeting into the water below, only to resurface to see a haughty Catra standing on the edge of the pool, arms crossed.

"I said drop it. Don't make me have to dunk you back under there."

Catra said, only to earn a splash of water to the face a second later.

"Hey! That's it! I'm going to drown your ass." Catra growled before wading into the water after her, although they both ended up laughing a few minutes later after Adora had managed to dunk Catra under, resulting in her hair going flat and completely covering her face.

"You know you're going to end up looking like a poodle or something when you dry out." Adora teased as Catra shook off, a blush coming over her face.

"Oh shut up already. I get it, I look stupid after drying off because of my fur and it's volume problem." Catra responded, trying—and failing—to sound nonchalant although it was what Adora said next that really set her face ablaze.

"You don't look stupid, actually I think it's kinda cute."


	38. Chapter 38

"Are you sure you don't want to come back with us? I mean you and Scorpia would be more than welcome to join us." Adora said, motioning to where Entrapta was talking with Bow about something or another, although Catra only shook her head.

"I know but I still have a lot to learn about not only my people but also my powers. I mean I _just_ found out that I could basically go like ninety-miles-per-hour and Dillion wants to teach me how to control it so I wont crash into another tree." Catra retorted, glaring over at the blonde who had started laughing at that confession.

Catra couldn't help the ghost of a smile that came over her face at the familiarity of all of this. The bantering, random late night conversations, even the half-ass arguments. Gods, she hadn't realized that she had missed those stupid little things so much until now.

Then again, she was thinking for herself now. Not worrying about Hordak or Shadow Weaver and diffidently not being pitted against anyone.

"You will come visit _us_ sometime right?" Adora asked, suddenly interrupting the feline's thoughts though she just laughed and bumped against her.

"Duh. You think I'm just going to let you get by with telling my _mother_ of all people about the mouse thing? Besides I _still_ want to kick your ass. Just because we are basically on the same side right now _doesn't_ mean I am not going to surpass you one of these days." Catra replied to that "next time we met though you better be ready for me to show you up."

Catra wasn't expecting to be pulled into a hug—nor could she help by yelp in surprise at the sudden motion.

"Okay...I'll miss you too but stop being such a marshmallow and let go of me." Catra retorted, pushing Adora away before adding "Jeez, you've gotten soft on me."

"So are you sure that you want me to teach the class for you? Scorpia makes a really good teacher." Dillion said as he sat in the laborite room, earning a sigh from Catra who opened one eye and glanced toward him.

"Scorpia is coming to Bright Moon with me and I trust Amur with the kids as far as I can throw him." Catra retorted, smirking a little as she leaned back against the smooth, multi-colored stone before adding "You and Anu have the patience of Shai where he doesn't. Hell, even _I_ don't have the patience half the time—although I don't throw my weight around." Catra responded, earning a chuckle.

"You had the patience to learn how to..." The old man began, however a sudden flood of light cut him off with a grunt and earned a hiss from her.

"Do you people _always_ forget to knock?" she demanded, earning a light chuckle.

"Sorry chief, your mom was asking for you to come see her before you leave tomorrow." Scorpia's voice said from the doorway, earning a groan from Catra.

 _Speak the obvious...Seriously. Did Cyra really think I would leave without saying goodbye? I'm not Adora...Ugh...Shut up brain, that is in the past._

Catra thought as she turned toward the taller girl, trying to resist the urge to roll her eyes.

"Yeah, I was _planning_ to. She's been busy with queen stuff lately and I've only seen her at dinner _twice_ in the past week and since I'll be gone for three weeks I should say goodbye." she retorted, earning a crooked grin from Scorpia.

"Why don't you just say you want to talk to your mom before you leave because _everyone_ knows that's what you mean."

That was enough to earn a glare from Catra as she stood, smoothing down the wrinkles in the dark crimson colored jacket she had on.

"Keep it up and I'll make you walk to Bright Moon by yourself. Remember I can easily outrun you." The feline princess retorted, tail waving about lazily as she tried to get the feeling back in her lower body—that was partially numb and stiff from sitting still for so long.

After a few minutes of silence, Catra finally walked over, roughly pulling Scorpia back out the door by a belt loop.

"Thanks for making that thing for me Dillion, I'm not the best at this gift giving stuff, Now think that's my cue to leave before this airhead ends up embarrassing me even more."

"So you got Adora a gift?" Scorpia asked as she was practically pulled out of the room by Catra, the meaning of her words not going unnoticed by the feline, who blushed and quickly got into the defensive.

"Hey, it's a respect thing among Magi-cats to never visit the home of a friend without some kind of token! Besides, I got the other two nitwits something too as well as Queen Angella." Catra retorted before adding "and your thing is in your room since you decided to stay here for the time being."

She tried not to notice how Scorpia's face instantly lit up at those words, however before she could say—or do—anything, Catra bolted off.

 _I am not dealing with her Effusiveness right now...I **should** have gotten her a children's dictionary...With a highlighted entry on the word Personal space. _Catra thought, although she couldn't keep the corners of her lips turning up slightly as she heard Scorpia's complaints echoing down the hall behind her.

"Sorry, Can't hear you! You're too slow!" she called over her shoulder before laughing.


	39. Chapter 39

"So you're leaving out then?" Cyra asked as soon as Catra entered her room the next morning, earning a nod.

"Yeah, I promised Adora I'd visit Bright Moon once I felt I understood my powers more. Think you can handle having Amur help you with stuff until I get back in three weeks?" Catra asked, earning a chuckle from the woman who had stood and went over to a chest of drawers and opening the far top compartment.

"While you are more qualified to help me with the budgeting and rationing due to your time as Hordak's lieutenant I think I can manage." Cyra retorted with a chuckle before she pulled out a small velveteen bag and handed it to Catra.

"What's this?" Catra asked, pulling out a rather large brooch from the bag, taking notice of it's darker amber, almost brown color that lightened around a vertical band of white that streaked down the middle.

"It is one of the three signs of the royal family...The other two being a scepter, which would be useless to either of us since we can't use _normal_ magic and a sword which is made of enchanted obsidian and never dulls. It is rumored to have fell a hundred men and if wielded by the right person it is rumored to have great power." Cyra answered, earning a smirk.

"Thought you didn't believe in mystical things?" she retorted, teasingly only to earn a light flick to the back of the ear by her mother.

"Oh I _do_ think _most_ of that is a load of bullshit. It has a charm on it that protects the wielder but that's all that it seems to do that any normal sword wont." Cyra retorted with a grin before adding in a more serious tone "Catra, this brooch is said to give the wearer understanding and despite not believing in that...I _know_ it has long been a symbol of our linage..and something that was given to the heir once they were proven worthy of it."

Catra couldn't seem to find anything to say at that, just allowing Cyra to take the pin back—only to feel it attached to the collar area of her traveling cloak, holding it together.

"I trust you with your decision on joining the rebellion...and I have to say that despite _everything,_ the person you are under all of those layers—the person that _chose_ to find a path for herself besides listening to _anyone's_ opinions—Has made me proud to call you my daughter."

Catra couldn't help but go stiff as she heard this. _She was proud of her?_ When had _anyone_ ever said something like that to her?

"You are?"

She couldn't help but squeak, not even noticing how her voice was trembling slightly as she looked up at her mother.

"Do you think I would lie to you? Catra, not many people are strong enough to go through with _half_ what you went through let alone walk away from it without a completely _shattered_ spirit. You helped your friends out, you've taken incentive on becoming better than you were but you _never_ changed who you are for anyone. Who wouldn't be proud of their children for that?"

Catra didn't bother to fight it when the taller woman pulled her into a embrace although she did slowly return the hug, unable to put any of her thoughts or feelings into words.

"Ugh...I swear even with She-Ra's strength I am ready to sleep for the next four weeks." Adora said as she walked toward the entrance of Bright Moon, only to get knocked onto her back by what felt like a human sized bullet.

"crap...Oops. Hey Adora."

Adora heard the familiar voice said before she heard a chuckle and felt the added weight leave her.

"Catra, ugh...What is up with you either jumping on me or plowing me over?" Adora grumbled as she sat up, taking a moment to get out of her daze before adding "You didn't tell me you were coming to Bright Moon."

Catra just shrugged at that as she answered "Needed a break from the brats and Amur...and speaking of breaks...I think you lost the rainbow feather duster you call a horse because last time I saw Scorpia she was gushing over him."

Glimmer couldn't help but let out a scoff at this.

"What is up with horde soldiers and spazzing out over horses?" she said, shaking her head at the thought although before she could say something else she was cut off by a certain feline

"I for one don't fangirl over things like that so don't say _all_ horde soldiers." Catra retorted, earning a smirk.

"Really? Why do I doubt that? I mean I heard you _purr_ before so...You're not some kind of perfect soldier that you think you are." Glimmer retorted, earning a growl.

"Hey that's involuntary! I can't help it!"

Adora couldn't help but laugh as her two friends bickered, rolling her eyes at Catra's poor attempts at saving face.

"Catra, you literally purr when you feel excited or happy...and you _never_ would purr when you thought Octavia, Lonnie, or one of the higher ups could hear. I _doubt_ it is _completely_ involuntary." the blonde retorted, earning a dirty look for her input.

"I brought you morons something _but_ if you two are just going to torture me I can find someone else to give them to." Catra retorted, motioning to the small bag she had brought with her before leaping up into a tree—out of their reach—before adding teasingly "and before you two say anything, it _doesn't_ mean I like you or anything...I mean I did give something to _Queen_ Angella already."

Adora once again rolled her eyes—something she found herself doing often around Catra—before she retorted "Yeah, we totally believe you now stop being a cat and come out of the tree and talk like a normal person."

Adora retorted, only to have the bag dropped down nearly onto her head.

"there, _now_ there's no reason for me to come down. The pink one is Glitter's, Red is yours and Green is Bow's." Catra said in response as Adora opened the bag.

Catra really hoped that they liked the amulets because she _really_ didn't know what to get anyone of them—besides the mini-tool set that she had gifted to Entrapta—but at least she _did_ put _some_ thought into it.

"I know it's lame but the blue kynite is supposed to protect it's wearer while the Amber is supposed to give energy and stamina. If they don't work, blame Dillion since he was the one who suggested it." She stated, trying to play it cool although her ears had turned themselves sideways and she couldn't seem to keep her tail still.

Adora took a moment to admire the dark and pale azure stone that had been crafted into an oval badge before she looked up at Catra.

"Thanks, that was really thoughtful." She said, pinning it to her jacket before adding teasingly "Are you sure you're not sick?"

"See if I give you anything else!" Catra retorted before turning toward Glimmer who seemed just as surprised as Adora.

"This better not be cursed or something."

Glimmer's response earned a scoff form the feline who crossed her arms.

"hate to burst your bubble but even I'm not _that_ low. Besides, both your mother _and_ mine would kill me."


	40. Chapter 40

"are you sure this isn't poisoned?" Catra asked, sniffing of the cold, oddly colored substance that Adora had handed her although it didn't smell much of anything but fruit, sugar, and cold.

 _How the heck can someone eat something that is this cold?_ She wondered just as Adora chuckled and took a seat beside of her.

"Yeah, I _doubt_ anyone would stoop that low. I'm just surprised that you never tried it before." Adora said, earning a scoff from Catra who poked her spoon into the mound of pink mush once again.

"Yeah I'm pretty sure that melting, sugary, goop isn't shelf-stable." Catra retorted, wrinkling her nose slightly as she watched Adora begin to eat her own bowl of—Whatever it was.

"Relax would you, it _won't_ kill you. I promise." Adora laughed when she noticed that Catra had continued to just poke at it.

"You sure about that because this _can't_ be healthy." Catra retorted just as Glimmer and Bow walked in.

"What? Are you _afraid_ of ice cream?" Glimmer asked, trying not to laugh as Catra glared over at her.

"I am not! I just don't understand why someone would frost bite their mouth just to eat this gunk!" Catra retorted, earning a chuckle from the other three in the room.

"It's not _that_ cold Catra. Just try it, you'll like it. I promise." Bow retorted, trying to choke back his amusement.

"Fine but if I end up losing my tongue I will personally kick all three of your asses." Catra retorted.

Adora watched how Catra's eyes grew wide as soon as she had tried the substance—much to the amusement of everyone in the room.

"okay, so it _is_ good." she agreed, trying to save face by shaking herself out of whatever daze that she had just come over.

"Told you." Adora said, earning a well aimed swat to the face by Catra's tail.

"Shut up you."

This just earned more laughter, especially since Adora had just batted the offending appendage away from her.

"Why don't you just shut up and eat your ice cream, fur ball."

"Okay that _can not_ be comfortable." Bow said as soon as he walked into the sitting room only to find Catra and Adora both asleep on one of the sofa's, Catra practically squished against the backrest and curled up half atop Adora.

"Well she is a cat so...Maybe not?" Netossa retorted, shaking her head at the scene before adding "but sleeping like that on a couch? One of them is going to either wake up with a stiff neck or land in the floor."

"Yeah really. Think we should wake them up?" Bow asked, earning a shrug.

"You wanna risk waking up an exhausted She-Ra and a temperamental cat-person?" She retorted before adding "I can talk to Adora later, let's leave those two alone."


	41. Chapter 41

Catra was surprised to find that she awoke before Adora. The blonde was partially hanging off the couch in an unflattering position. Shaking her head in amusement, Catra shrugged out of the long vest that she had fallen asleep wearing the previous evening she draped it across the blonde before heading out of the room to get ready for the day.

 _She still sleeps like a rock._ She thought, unable to keep from smiling slightly as she rummaged through the small bag of clothing that she had brought with her. _I guess some things never change, even when it sometimes feels like **everything** is spiraling out of control_.

Her eyes landed on the brooch that Cyra had given her, the white band almost seeming to move as the crystal refracted the light in the room. Picking it up she began to notice the tiny details in the metal work that encased it to the pin. There were small, odd shapes burned into the bronze and directly beneath the crystal at the bottom was carved a mini lion's head.

She couldn't help but think back to what her mother had said. Had she meant it? Catra couldn't help but wonder, although the more logical part of her brain reminded her that Cyra was the embodiment of blunt honesty, even if it _did_ hurt to hear it.

She wouldn't lie about something like that.

The concept still made her head hurt if she was being honest with herself but she found that as she spent more time in Half-Moon, that she had began to understand that some of it.

Adora awoke to find herself wrapped in the long sleeveless jacket which smelled oddly of honeysuckle—something that was so sweet that she wouldn't have ever believed that Catra would want associated with.

 _She really is different now isn't she? Maybe after she got out of Hordak's shadow she will finally be the same girl that I knew as a kid._ She thought as she heard the door open, causing her to turn toward the noise, only to find herself staring because in the dim light of dawn, Adora began to notice things about Catra that she never really had noticed before—although she wasn't sure if it was due to the light or the skin-tight black tank-top that Catra was wearing.

However, whatever the reason, she couldn't help but notice the small layer of well defined muscle that the other girl had seemed to gain since they had last saw each other—or at least it seemed like it to Adora.

"Hope I didn't wake you, you seemed pretty out of it." Catra drawled as she walked in, pausing mid-step when she noticed that her childhood friend was staring.

"Uh...Adora. Did I leave shampoo in my hair or something or have you finally lost your mind?" the feline questioned, causing her to snap out of it.

"Huh? Sorry, was I staring? I must still be half asleep or something." Adora stated, earning a chuckle from Catra who chose that moment to drop her still damp towel over Adora's head.

"Sure, I'll buy it." she snickered, trying to remain neutral about this whole thing—and that her blood pressure wasn't threatening to skyrocket at any moment before she added "what's the plan for today?"

she asked, earning a sigh from Adora who sent the towel flying toward her—only to miss by a mile.

"Well Perfuma did want me to come to an festival thing that her people hold around this time to celebrate the incoming harvest so I was planning on going to that...and since you're here I was going to ask you to come too." Adora answered, earning a arched brow.

"You sure that's a good idea? Last time she saw me I was fighting _against_ the rebellion." Catra reminded her, earning a crooked grin.

"I think she'd be willing to give you a chance." Adora responded although she noticed that the other girl's ears seemed to turn back at the sheer thought of meeting any of the other princesses.

"I'll be right there and so will Glimmer and Bow so if anyone tries to do or say anything you'll have us."

She didn't want to sound as though Catra _needed_ someone to protect her because it was _obviously_ _ **not**_ true but she still didn't want her to feel like she was going into this alone either.

"You I trust, Princess two-tone and Arrow? Not so much." Catra retorted.

Adora wasn't sure what to expect when Catra came over to her with a cup of some kind of blue juice, handing one of the cups to her before taking a seat beside her.

"How do you like it so far?" Adora asked, earning a sigh from Catra who took a drink from her own cup before answering

"Loud, confusing, and I literally have had at least seven flower things hung around me and I'm pretty sure I have some kind of plant matter stuck in my hair." Catra retorted, tail lashing slightly with annoyance although Adora just laughed.

"Have you seen the fruit toss thing? I figured that you would enjoy that." Adora asked, earning a huff.

"I couldn't get by all the kids asking me _what_ I am? What the fuck was I supposed to say?" Catra retorted, draining the rest of her cup before adding "Maybe after this damn war I can finally stop worrying so much about my mom and the others."

Adora hadn't expected to ever hear Catra to say something like that but she couldn't help but to reach over and take the feline's hand. _She really does care about them...Whatever happened within these last few months really must have resounded with her because she is completely loyal to them._ She thought as she felt the other girl's hand gingerly enclose around hers.

"Hey, let's worry about the horde later. Right now let's focus on here and now and try to enjoy everything." Adora stated, earning a hint of hint of a smile in response.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Ugh...I swear I am turning into _you."_

Adora just nudged Catra at that.

"You're too much of a smart ass to be me." she retorted, earning a laugh in response.

"Yeah, you're right. Now come on, you wanted me to try _something_ or another and since I know jack shit about this place...You might as wells show me." Catra said, earning a mischievous smirk in return.

"You know, you're going to regret saying that."


	42. Chapter 42

"I can't be the only one who finds it hard to believe _either_ of them were high ranking members of Hordak's army." Glimmer said as she and Bow watched as Catra and Adora basically got caught up in a goop fight with the innards of the strange fruits that they were shelling out.

"hey, at least they are actually spreading the seeds _and_ this whole thing is going better than anyone could have hoped." Bow retorted with a chuckle as he glanced down at his own fruit before adding "Is it just me or is Adora being... _different_...today?"

This caught Glimmer's attention.

"Different how?" she questioned, earning a shrug.

"She seems to be spending a lot of time with Catra and kind of...I can't really put a finger on it." Bow responded, earning a giggle from the princess.

"You don't think that Adora has a crush on Catra do you? I mean it would explain why Adora has basically been staring at her all day." Glimmer questioned, earning a grin.

"You noticed that too huh? Does Adora even know what a crush even is?"

"Probably not."

"How in the universe did I get talked into doing this again?" Catra grumbled as she waded into the shallow area of the river, thankful that it was still warm enough that this was possible or else she would remain sticky all day.

"Stop trying to be a hard ass, I know you're having fun." Adora retorted before dipping down beneath the surface, earning a scoff from Catra.

"Sure I am. Keep on telling yourself that if it makes you feel better for keeping me prisoner all day." the feline retorted although she couldn't keep a straight face, especially since she had diffidently beat Adora—or at least got her more covered in fruit guts than she was—and had gotten to see everyone's reaction to seeing the mighty _She-Ra_ slip and fall on her ass at least twice.

"Oh I kept you prisoner? _How_ did I do that exactly, I mean you can turn into a giant freakin' cat that can run at least twenty times faster than me? You could have left at _any_ time you had wanted to and you know it." Adora quipped as she brushed wet hair out of her face.

"Speaking of turning into animals you look like a drowned rat." Catra said, otherwise ignoring Adora's statement.

By the time that they were done the water seemed to have taken on a dark purplish hue and both of them were soaked to the bone.

"Think you can convince Hippy-Dippy of the flower people to let us borrow some towels or something?" Catra questioned, shaking the water from her person the best that she could—not even noticing that she had accidentally splattered droplets all over Adora in the process.

"Ugh...Fine. Just stop being such a cat and shaking water all over me." 

The blonde's response caused Catra to finally notice what she was doing and let a chuckle.

"Sorry...Force of habit."

Adora rolled her eyes at that comment.

"Force of habit? More like you like to force my patience." Adora retorted as she left Catra sitting there on the banks.

Catra suppressed a shiver as she lay back against the trunk of a large tree, closing her eyes as she thought about the events of that day. There was no denying that she had enjoyed the lighthearted atmosphere—having been able to shove her worries to the back of her mind and just let Adora drag her into one pointless task to another.

Catra knew she could have easily said _no,_ that she could have easily changed their direction _but_ she really didn't want to—not out of curiosity of the culture, Catra wouldn't go that far—but out of a curiosity about _why_ Adora enjoyed the tasks that she had chosen.

Although _why_ Adora's opinion on this short of thing even mattered to her she didn't know.

She didn't even notice that Adora had come back over until she felt something being draped over her head.

"Here...I got you some tea too." Adora's voice said from somewhere behind her, causing her to turn toward her.

"Thanks...You didn't have to do that." Catra said, unsure what to do or say in this situation because her brain couldn't stop short circuiting for some reason.

"I know but I wanted to since I know that you get cold pretty easy once you're wet." Adora's answer caught Catra by surprise.

 _How does she know that?_

She wondered, turning toward the blonde who had taken a seat beside of her, her own towel covering her almost like a cocoon. She could feel herself staring so she took a drink of the steaming mug in order to hide that fact.

"You shouldn't even _look_ at me after all I did. I mean I stabbed you in the back... _literally._ " Catra said after a while, earning a sigh from Adora who turned toward her.

"Yeah and you scratched Octavia across the face for one petty reason or another. Catra, you act first think about it later and I can only imagine how angry and hurt you were after everything. I never meant to make you feel like second best or...Anything really. I guess we both were blind in our own ways, huh." Adora responded, earning a shrug as Catra leaned back against the tree once again.

"How about we agree that we're both stubborn as hell and call it a day?"

It was late when they headed back to Bright Moon and Catra knew that if she was tired—even with the stamina that having feline genes gave her—that the humans had to be. Especially Adora who had decided that three people was too much for Swift Wind and had opted to walk while Bow and Glimmer rode the aforementioned Alicorn.

Without thinking too much of it, Catra reached up and pulled her mask down over her eyes before turning toward Adora.

"Get on, You're killing me and I'm not even Human." she said, earning a confused look from the blonde.

"What are you talking about? And since when can you talk as a cat?" Adora questioned as she took a full step back as if thinking that Catra had gone crazy although the large feline just rolled its eyes.

"Look, either you walk the six miles back or you can _ride_ and I know that if I'm looking forward to sleep then you must be exhausted so before I change my mind...Get on." Catra retorted, ears pinning slightly.

She watched as Adora slowly drew closer to her side before she felt the light pressure come across her back and felt a hand run through her mane.

"Wow...You're soft." Adora muttered, earning a light growl as Catra started walking again.

 _She totally owes me...Just for having to listen to dumb and dumber over there snickering like school children._ Catra thought, trying to ignore both the whispers and laughter from Adora's friends and the fact that Adora was practically _petting_ her.

 _Why the hell did I even offer? I'm the heir of a warrior race, not some kind of prissy house cat!_


	43. Chapter 43

"Holy Crow! Catra are you trying to give someone a heart attack?"

Catra turned toward the sudden voice, smirking slightly in the dark although she knew that Bow couldn't see it. It still amused her that even after a week in Bright Moon—well a week where she wasn't interchangeably either beside a hospital bed or asleep in a guarded room anyway—She still managed to catch people off guard.

Including Queen Angella—although the monarch would never admit that.

Even if Catra _had_ noticed the sudden rigidness of her wings on more the one occasion.

"You guys really don't know what tapetum lucidum is do you? I think you're the _fifth_ person that has thought I was a demon or something." Catra retorted, curling her tail slightly around her as she turned her attention back toward the window she was sitting in, shifting something on her lap as she did so.

"Okay well, we're not used to a magi-cat darting around the castle at midnight getting into weird places. Why didn't you join us tonight? I mean, You've already met Perfuma." Bow retorted as he walked over to her, noticing that the thing she was holding was a notebook.

"Yeah well I'm not the _best_ person for sleepovers." Catra retorted as she leaned against the pane, the moonlight causing her eyes to seem to glow even more as it reflected off of them.

"you know, you're not as emotionless as everyone thought you would be." Bow said after a few minutes of just standing there, earning a scoff.

"Not _everything_ you think about the Horde is right you know. It wasn't _all_ bad. I mean, would I have preferred living in Half-Moon with my parents? Yeah, but there are still some good memories left from the fright zone." Catra retorted before turning toward him.

"I mean when we were kids we basically got free range as long as we didn't go out of bounds or break something. Adora and I basically used the whole supply area as an obstacle course. I mean the games we played _were_ to make us better soldiers _but_ it wasn't bad. I mean the Magi-cat kittens play fight the same ways we did in the fright zone and they are diffidently not being raised as soldiers."

"I think all kids play games of heroes and villains. I mean one of my dad's even made me a toy sword and shield when I was little." Bow responded, earning a smirk.

"I figured you'd have preferred to shoot sticks with a hand made bow." she quipped, earning a laugh.

"Oh I did that too."

An silence passed over them for a few minutes before Bow finally spoke again,

"I was going down to the kitchen to get something to eat, wanna come?"

Catra seemed to think about that question for a second as she finally sighed and nodded.

"Sure, why not? Not like I'm doing _anything_ productive right now."

Bow allowed a heavy silence to come over them as they walked toward the kitchen, knowing that Catra didn't exactly like to make idle chat. But after a while it just had became awkward and he finally began to speak once more.

"You keep a diary?" he asked, earning a sigh.

"You diffidently ask too many questions but no, it's not a diary. I'm working on something."

Catra's answer caught his attention.

"I didn't take you for the kind of person who would keep a notebook on anything." he stated, earning a sigh.

"Neither did I but I had to do something to shut my brain up and my mom suggested me finding a way to get my emotions out. I tried a lot of things _but_ Anu suggested this and I ended up liking it." Catra answered.

"So if you don't mind my asking, what is the project you're working on.?"

he asked, earning a light growl.

"How did I know you were going to ask that? Here, but tell _anyone_ about this and I will make you wish I could kill you." Catra retorted, handing him the notebook.

Catra watched as his eyes widened slightly upon realizing what it was he was seeing before he turned toward her.

"You wrote these yourself? Even the tablature?" he questioned turning toward her only to see her bristling defensivly as if expecting him to start poking fun at her at any second.

"Yeah, what of it?"

Her response made Bow want to laugh, especially since she was trying to sound threatening _but_ the blush that threatened to paint her whole face destroyed any aura of danger that she was trying to conjure.

"These are really good. Have you shown these to anyone else?" Bow said, flipping through some more of the pages.

"Only Scorpia. my mom has seen the first page but none of the newer stuff." Catra answered before adding "and don't start make a big deal out of me showing you, I just didn't want you to keep nagging me."

Angella wasn't sure what to expect anymore, especially not after she had pardoned not one but _three_ former Horde soldiers—once having been her husband's close friend's daughter—but waking up to finding not only her window open but also a large spotted cat sitting nearly atop her with a letter in it's mouth sure was not it.

"I wasn't expecting anything from Cyra until Saturday. Is something wrong?" she asked while taking the letter.

The large cat then leaped onto the floor and shifted back into his human form, his whole body seeming to droop at the question.

"The Horde is headed toward Half-Moon as we speak...Seems like they saw She-Ra's winged stallion landing there. We can't survive another attack like before, we need help." the young man said, earning a nod.

"I'll have my daughter gather her battalion...We've already had too many casualties as it is...We do not need any more."


	44. Chapter 44

Catra knew that they hadn't wanted her to come, having been afraid to know what she would have seen. But these were her people and this time she could stand and fight.

"You think that you'll be alright?" Scorpia asked, coming over beside her although Catra just nodded before sliding her mask down over her eyes and heading down into the frenzy that was below them.

The first thing she noticed was the smell of blood, something that she hadn't noticed from a distance but was almost overwhelmed by now and it was a _familiar scent,_ one that she had became accustomed to almost as quickly as she had that of her mother's.

 _Anu_.

She glanced around to find the source of the smell, only to find her mother stumbling backward as blood began to spread across the pale blue fabric. Catra didn't even have time to think before she acted, rushing forward and knocking the Horde soldier to the ground.

The next thing she knew she was being knocked to the ground by a golden furred feline that was even larger than Catra's own form. She was about to say something however suddenly as if en-wrapped by exhaustion her vision slowly faded to black.

"Is she going to be okay? What happened out there? I mean she was attacking everything." Adora asked Cyra, who was sitting by Catra's bed, idly playing with a strand of the younger Magi-cat's hair.

"She'll be fine. You see Adora, our beast forms make it _very_ easy to lose ourselves to our instincts and she must have either been very angry or very scared out there." Cyra explained, wincing as she shifted and glanced over at the blonde who had not moved from the stool at one end of the room—which Cyra could assume was not very comfortable.

"That much stress just tired her out. She will wake up once her body recovers a bit so you can probably go get some sleep, it's late." Cyra added, earning a sigh from Adora.

"I won't be able to sleep. You know, even after everything she did...everything we did to each other...I never couldn't stop worrying about her. Even when I thought she hated me."

Adora could see Cyra's ears prick up slightly at that, similar to how Catra's did whenever she heard something that particularly interested her.

"I don't think Catra could ever hate you but she was _hurt_ that you left her. _Hurt_ because you never noticed the horrible things happening to her but you did when it happened to strangers. She's not good with emotions so I suppose that in a way she was trying to hurt you just as much as you hurt her." Cyra replied after a while, her voice not holding any contempt or accusation at all.

Those last words seemed to repeat in Adora's head, causing her to grow quiet for a few minutes before she finally spoke.

"You mean she told you all of that?" she asked, trying to change the subject—and get it out of her mind.

"Like pulling teeth but eventually yes, she did."

The door opening was what broke the silence next.

"Queen Cyra? We leave for Bright Moon at dawn, what shall we do about those fallen?" a male voice stated, earning a sigh.

"We'll have the funeral pyres before we leave. I fear if we stay longer then all of us will see the next world now that Hordak knows we are here." Cyra stated, sighing as she glanced down at her daughter before adding "How is Amur? I assume he is taking the news pretty hard."

The soldier grimaced before sighing

"and so will Catra. Despite what she may say, she really admired him."

Cyra sighed then and nodded.

"like a father or grandfather if anyone is honest with themselves. I just hope that today doesn't prove too much for either of them. They were old enough to recall the trauma of the first raid ages ago...I fear it may set either or both of them back."

Glimmer sighed as she glanced around the room at the other occupants, having agreed take first watch for the night in case any kind of trouble arouse.

Cyra had opted to sleep on the floor in her cat form with both Bow and Adora using her as a pillow, which didn't seem like it would be comfortable to Glimmer _but_ it had to be better than only sleeping on the floor.

Glancing toward the small window she sighed. It would be daylight soon and they would have to head out—even if someone had to carry Catra.

Sighing Glimmer took a seat on the floor, half dozing off herself when suddenly a scream caused her to jerk awake.

"Let go of me!"

Glimmer was on her feet in an instant, ready to blast whoever the culprit was, or at least she was until she saw that it was Catra yelling and Cyra was holding her wrists. Glimmer wasn't sure what was more surprising, that the sheet's, blankets, and wall night stand had been nearly destroyed or the fact that Catra—who was seemingly still asleep—had tears running down her face.

"Catra, I need you to wake up. You're _safe."_ Cyra practically growled in a low voice that was only contradicted by how worried she looked.

"What's happening?" she couldn't help but ask, earning a sigh.

"Night Terrors evidently. Adora, has she ever had something like this before?" the queen answered, turning her attention to the blonde who nodded.

"Never this bad but she used to have nightmares a lot as a kid. Most of the time we'd sleep together because it actually _let_ her sleep." Adora stated, earning a sigh.

"one of you go down the hall and tell one of the guards to get some water...She's going to need something to focus on when she wakes up." Cyra said with a sigh, sounding as tired as Glimmer felt.

"I'll go."

Bow said in response before leaving the room.

The sound of the door snapping shut—rather loudly although it was obvious that Bow had tried to be quiet—jolted Catra from her sleep, her eyes darting around the room as if in search for something that wasn't there before they finally came to rest on Cyra.

"Mom! You're alive? I thought..." Catra's voice hitched at that before she suddenly hugged her.

Needless to say this was the _last_ thing that Glimmer expected although Adora just smiled slightly at the scene.


	45. Chapter 45

_Is this my fault? Did this happen because I came here? Would everything have been okay if I hadn't agreed to come to Half-moon?_ Catra's mind was a whirl of thoughts as she watched her mother light the first of the funeral pyres while the families of the other fallen did the same, all accept one body.

"You two were the closest to him and since he had no family, would you two want to do the honors?" Cyra asked, turning toward Catra and Amur who were standing near each other.

"It would be an honor Aunt Cyra although I do not know if someone as _new_ to our culture as Catra would understand the significance of the ritual." Amur responded, giving Catra a sideways glance as if to challenge her.

"Perhaps _not_ however it still stands Amur that you _**both**_ were incredibly close to Anu so it is only _fair_ that you both get to participate if you so desire." Cyra responded as she walked over to them, holding a torch out to Catra who—with shaking hands—took it.

"Amur, I know you're hurting right now but lay off. She doesn't need this." Cyra growled too low for anyone else to hear before heading back toward the group.

"Let's see if you can do _something_ right, half-breed." he sneered as they followed Cyra over to where Anu's body lay. But Catra ignored this—or at least tried to—as she tried to force her emotions down. She couldn't show weakness in front of anyone and especially **not** her cousin.

She heard her mother talking but she couldn't even make herself pay attention to what she was hearing. Especially not when all she could see was Anu and Cyra's bodies laying there, bleeding and her being powerless to really help.

"What's wrong?" Amur whispered as he aimed a magical blast toward the dried grasses around the body, eyes narrowing "Finally realize that you killed him? That you almost got everyone here killed, including your own mother? Did you honestly think you'd be worth more than a murderer?"

Everything happened so fast that no one really had time to say anything before Amur fell back, blood staining the white fur on his face crimson and Catra bolting off into the forest.

"What the hell happened?"

"What did you say to her!"

Amur was caught off guard by the fact that not only an obviously angry Cyra but an equally irritated Adora basically cornering him.

"Didn't you see her hit me?" he questioned, earning a scoff from Cyra.

"Yeah and I also saw you whisper something to her. Do you really think I am _**that**_ dumb? That I didn't notice what was going on? I'm just surprised it took her this long to actually react to it, which just proves to me that Anu and Dillion both were right about _both_ you and Catra and you wouldn't make a good heir. It takes more than strength to rule a kingdom and you lack a lot of it." the queen growled before turning toward Dillion.

"Tend to his wounds and then he is to help with the movement of the rune stone. Don't wait for me, I'll catch up, I need to go make sure she is okay." Cyra said with a sigh before bolting off in the direction her daughter went.

Cyra didn't have to search for long before she found the younger Magi-cat who was hunched over, heaving as though she was going to be sick and favoring one hand which was bloody and scrapped up pretty badly.

Cyra wanted to say a lot of things but found that she couldn't quite figure out how to say any of them so she just knelt beside her and gingerly ran a hand over her back for some time, giving her the choice to open up or not.

"This is all my fault. If I hadn't came here...I almost got you and everyone else killed! I did get Anu killed and he was one of my dad's best friends and I..."

 _Is that what that overgrown brat told her? That she was responsible?_

Cyra growled softly before gingerly turning Catra slightly to face her.

"Did you alert Hordak of our presence?" Cyra questioned, watching as Catra's body langauge drooped even further.

"No. But if they saw Swift Wing..."

Cyra was not about to give her time to complete that sentence so she said:

"Yes but if scouts were coming that close and we were easy for _you_ to find what do you think of the Horde? A reptilian has just as good sense of smell as you do, even if they do smell through their tongue. If you _hadn't_ came we wouldn't have had a fighting chance."

Cyra let that sink in before she continued.

"You may have lost control of your beast form but in the end you saved the lives of a lot of people. Don't you remember knocking that one soldier off of me? Do you not remember taking out a wave of soldiers around us and causing them to fall back because you moved too fast for them to see?"

"All I can remember is seeing them over you, ready to land the final blow then everything just went black. I thought I lost you...I..."

Catra struggled to get the words out before her mother pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Catra, you did nothing wrong... well besides punching your cousin but _that_ I'm surprised hasn't happened sooner. Now come on, we better catch up to the others, a certain blonde seemed worried about you and quite possibly has shoved her sword up Amur's ass by this point in time." Cyra responded, a hint of amusement in her voice at the end as she helped Catra to stand.

They walked in silence for some time and Catra—for what she assumed to be the first time—leaned most of her weight onto her mother. She hated how weak she felt for enjoying the contact, how she felt as though if she moved that she would wake up and she would find that the person they had just cremated had been Cyra, not Anu—even though the thought of never being able to talk to the old man again hurt like hell—and as stupid as the fear was, it terrified her.

What if this was one of Shadow Weaver's mind games? What if Cyra wasn't there? What if?

She felt herself began to shake once again but this time an arm pulled her closer and a deep rumble began to practically vibrate around her.

"Don't lock people out Catra, if you don't feel like you can tell me something at least talk to Adora or one of your other friends about it. I know at least three of them would be willing to listen."


	46. Chapter 46

Cyra woke up to find something—or rather someone—laying curled up at the foot of the bed.

"Kitten, come sleep up here if you're staying the night. Probably be more comfortable _and_ there is a less of a chance of you getting kicked off the bed." the queen stated, trying to bite back the chuckle at how Catra's fur seemed to stand on end at the fact that she had been caught.

"You better not tell **anyone** about this and stop calling me kitten! I'm no baby." The teen retorted, earning a snort of amusement from her mother.

"No, you're a brat. Stop being so defensive, who am I going to tell anyway?" Cyra retorted, earning a light growl from Catra who made her way up toward the head of the bed.

"Shut up."

"Make me, kitten."

Catra felt herself relax at the familiar banter—another reminder that her mother really was there.

"How did you do it? You saw so much _worse_ than I did and yet..." she began after a while, her mind flashing not only to seeing the two of the only four authority figures she actually would listen to laying on the ground, but also to the vision of her father laying motionless in a pool of his own blood.

"To be honest? By doing things that I really _shouldn't_ have." Cyra responded, nuzzling against her before adding "want to talk about whatever is keeping you awake? It may help."

Catra thought about it.

 _Would it help to talk about it?_

 _Cyra wouldn't lie to her, would she?_

Sighing she rolled unto her back, staring up at the odd fixtures that hung from the ceiling.

"Every time I close my eyes I see people I care about dying or dead in front of me. Dad, _you_ , Adora. Even Dillion and Amur." She confessed, not daring to look away from the ceiling. She didn't need pity, she wasn't some kid that needed looked after. She had been the lieutenant for Hordak for Catullus's sake!

But yet she found herself still willing to talk.

"I wouldn't be bothering you but I...I dreamed that _**I**_ was the one who killed you and Adora. What if my dreams are trying to tell me something? What if I am still a bad person? What if I end up hurting someone?"

"like I said before, bad people don't worry about being bad, Catra. Besides that, stress would make anyone have some screwed up dreams." Cyra responded as she turned on her side to face her daughter. "Now stop worrying about what Amur said."

Catra managed a nod and curled up a bit closer to her mother's side.

"you okay? You look like you were up all night." Adora asked as she slid into the chair beside Catra at breakfast the next morning, earning a sigh.

"yeah. I just kept thinking about shit and got myself worked up. Don't worry about it." the feline retorted, taking a drink from the tea in front of her.

"Don't worry about it. Catra, what you went through yesterday would be traumatic for anyone and..." Adora began, only to stop when Catra stood up.

"Look, I don't need you to worry about me. I just need time and I don't need or want pity. I get enough of that from my mom." Catra said and Adora was sure Catra wanted it to sound angry, probably dangerous but if anyone was being honest, she just sounded tired.

"Worry and pity are two different things Catra." Adora reminded her, earning a sigh as the feline seemed to deflate.

"I know...I just...Whatever, I'm going for a walk."

Adora thought once about letting Catra go, but something about the tone that her voice took made her change her mind.

"look, I'm sorry if I've been hovering or whatever but I can't stop worrying about you. You may be strong enough to tackle anything that comes your way, _but_ you shouldn't always feel like you have to face it alone." she stated, earning an unreadable look from Catra who just nodded before pulling Adora to her feet.

"Fine, you wanna talk...You can walk with me. I'll get us something to eat later."

Adora allowed Catra to pull her along.

Neither of them bothered to speak until Catra finally stopped outside of the forest.

"Anu was my father's best friend and when Mom couldn't train me, he did. When Mom and I got in a fight, he talked sense into both of us. He was easy to trust and open up to...and yet Amur and probably half of the kingdom thinks it's _my_ fault he and the others are dead."

Catra said after a few minutes of staring silently into the forest, fists clenched so hard at her sides that her claws dug into her skin.

"You know as well as I do that the Horde is about conquest. How do you know _how_ they found the magi-cats? How do you know that they didn't catch sight of the sentry because I swear entering bright moon I _thought_ I was going crazy because I kept seeing this huge black thing out of the corner of my eye. There's only so much hiding a large creature can do." Adora replied, earning a sigh as Catra took a seat on the ground.

"Yeah well, I still _feel_ responsible. I mean I didn't even know what a family was until I came to bright moon and it still confused the hell out of me. But despite the first week or so in Half-Moon, Cyra and Anu treated me like family and eventually...I started trusting them." Catra confessed, wincing as she leaned back onto her hands, only then noticing the scratches along her palms.

"I kinda can relate. I mean I felt responsible after we thought we lost Entrapta. I know it's not the same thing as you're facing or even the same kind of pain but..." Adora began, earning a slight smile.

"Adora, you're rambling and for you it is very similar. You care about everyone...You didn't break under the horde's influence like some of us did." Catra said before her expression turned serious again and she added "sometimes I think I'm _too_ broken."

" _too_ broken would be if someone _never_ felt any sympathy... _not_ people who are just too damn stubborn to show any emotion." the blonde retorted before taking hold of one of Catra's hands "Now we better go get these cleaned up before they end up infected."

Rolling her eyes Catra just pulled away.

"I'll just have Dillion heal me before my mom can notice. She's already called me an idiot for nearly breaking my hand on a tree."

Once again Adora was surprised by Catra's words—although that didn't stop her from laughing softly at the idea that the usually rebellious feline actually was trying to avoid trouble.

"What happened to you letting 'future catra' deal with the consequences of everything?" she teased, earning a glare.

"Yeah well I'm pretty sure even _future_ Catra wouldn't want to deal with extreme training sessions at the crack of dawn for _any_ number of days. Now enough talk about my mom, I'll go get this cleaned up then we'll go into that village we passed through on our way to the castle. You can be my tour guide for today."

Adora watched as Catra traded something shiny for the food, leaving the elderly couple behind the stand wide eyed and whispering. _She really has changed...I mean she's still smart ass Catra but...It's more like she was when she was a kid._ She realized, just as Catra came over to where she was sitting.

"Here and before you ask where I got the money...Magi-cats were miners of all sorts so I have gemstones...and I'm pretty sure that thing was worth more money than they have had in a while." Catra said, motioning back at the couple before adding "the food here is better than those ration bars, that's for sure."

"Remember the time you ate the brown ration and was sick for a whole day?" Adora asked, earning a scoff.

" _I_ ate it? More like you blackmailed me because you were afraid to try it and no wonder I was sick! It tasted like burnt rubber mixed with mud!" Catra retorted

"And that is why you put the decapitated mouse in my shoe." Adora reminded her, earning puzzled look.

"No, actually it wasn't. You were always complaining of it bolting out under your bed and we both hated the things...I guess twelve year old me didn't have a clue how to show off." Catra confessed, earning a snicker.

"Catra, you've _**always**_ been a show off! We _both_ kind of have and you _still_ are afraid of mice so don't say _hated._ You still _hate_ them!"

"I do not!"

This went on for some time before Adora let out a chuckle.

"You know I missed this...I missed _us._ I mean ever since we were really little we did everything together."

Catra smiled as she lay back onto the grass.

"Yeah, so did I. I mean Scorpia and Entrapta are great but...It wasn't the same."

"Hey Catra? Can I ask you something?"

Adora asked after just laying there for a few minutes, earning a murmured response that wasn't quite understandable but Adora was going to take it as an affirmative.

"You mentioned your dad. How do you know so much about your heritage...I mean I've been meaning to ask but..." she began, prompting Catra to sit back up and turn toward her.

"Shadow Weaver erased my memories. I was taken from Half-Moon the day it fell and when I touched the ruin stone in order to get the shapeshifting powers...I remembered everything. I was like two or three when I was taken and I saw my dad killed that day...Seeing my mom laying there bleeding ...I couldn't help but be afraid the past would repeat itself and it basically did." Catra answered, eyes filling with tears once again—although she brushed them away.

Adora couldn't help but reach over and take her hand then, earning a ghost of a smile.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked." Adora said, earning a shrug.

"You didn't know besides we never really talked much about what really happened after I was sent away from Bright Moon, which ended up being a stupid arrangement with my mom to begin with. Powerful weapon my ass." Catra retorted, leaning back a bit although she didn't remove her hand from Adora's.

They sat in silence for a while, neither of them bothering to move, although Catra wasn't sure what it was she was feeling. _Stop overthinking, you're just screwed up in the head because of yesterday._ She thought, although she wasn't sure that was it. She had felt this way _before_ Adora had left the fright zone...as much as she hated to admit it.

"Come on, let's stop sitting around here and go do something. Maybe you can convince the flying jackass to take us for a fly or something." she said, pulling away from the blonde finally and standing with a stretch.

"Yeah, I will but it may help if you stop calling him any of the terms for a donkey _or_ a feather duster."


	47. Chapter 47

"So Catra is obviously with Adora...Let's just hope they don't run into trouble." Cyra stated as she glanced down at the map in front of her, earning a sigh from Angella.

"I'm more afraid that they would be the _cause_ ofthetrouble."

Cyra arched a brow at the angel like woman at that.

"That bad?" she questioned, earning a hint of a smile as she glanced up

"One has a mischievous streak and the other is Tora's daughter. Do you really think we can trust those two together?"

Cyra couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"To true. Tora _is_ the one who basically taught your daughter a lot of stupid jokes that were borderline inappropriate for a child, let alone a princess!"

Angella couldn't help but laugh at that and shake her head.

"I recall and Micah didn't help matters any either. Gods, it doesn't seem like these kids should be as old as they are."

"No it doesn't. Nor should children be fighting in a damn war...But what use will some of us be? We lost the royal house of Dryl and many other allies...and Heavens know Hunga isn't going to be any form of help." Cyra almost growled, earning a sigh.

"What choice do we have? Glimmer and her friends have made more progress than _we_ ever did during the first alliance."

Glimmer was flipping through a book when Adora suddenly burst into her room, the sound causing her to almost fall off the bed.

"Adora! What the hell? Did something happen?" she asked, teleporting over to her although the blonde just shook her head.

"No but I think we have a problem...I like Catra."

Glimmer blinked at that before arching a brow.

"Um...And that's a problem why exactly?" She questioned, unsure where Adora was taking this.

"I _like_ Catra, like like- _like_ and it's like forbidden or something for the magi-cats to...you know and I don't want to get her disowned or something by Queen Cyra because she is so happy now and " Adora began, earning a snort.

"Yeah, I doubt that Cyra will even _care_ if something does come of this because she married a lower class mage. Besides, she loves you."

Adora just glared before falling back into a chair and closed her eyes.

"yeah but that was _before_ I realized I wanted to _kiss_ her daughter!"

Glimmer just sighed and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Adora, this isn't like ancient times. I think you're over thinking it. Just talk to Catra about it. I'm sure that Catra knows how her mom would react."

"I can't talk to Catra! I mean what if she thinks I'm some kind of freak and..." Adora began to rant, causing Glimmer to start laughing and shaking her head.

"You two are walking disasters. How did you even come to think you had a crush on her anyway? I'm surprised you even know what a crush is."

Adora glared over at Glimmer before she answered "We landed by that lake nearby, you know the one with the glowing flowers? We were just playing around and somehow I slipped and...Uhh this is so embarrassing!" a

Cyra was sitting in her room when her sensitive ears picked up a conversation down the hall—one which caused her to laugh and roll her eyes.

"I thought you didn't use your abilities to eaves drop?" Angella questioned, arching a brow at the other woman who just smirked.

"I don't but Adora is freaking out _and_ it's because of my Daughter. I had to hear what happened, evidently she thinks I am going to kill her and Catra because she has _feelings_ for Catra."

Angella sighed at that and shook her head.

"you're worse than the kids."

Cyra just snickered and retorted "Oh come on, don't tell me whenever you hear Glimmer's name mentioned you don't get curious."

"No because I respect my child's privacy," Angella answered before letting out a sigh and adding "And I don't want to know what trouble she's ended up causing again."

Cyra couldn't help but start laughing at that.

"So what do you think about the idea of those two having a relationship?" Angella questioned, recalling how Cyra's mother would have reacted to this kind of information.

"Besides the fact that I had to watch those two peacock around each other? They are oblivious as hell and I think the kids that Catra teaches has a bet going on it." Cyra responded, tail lashing slightly as she added "I wish Adora good luck because Catra wouldn't recognize a crush if it slapped her full in the face. Poor girl evidently inherited that from _my_ side of the family tree."

Angella visibly relaxed at that and glanced over at the younger woman.

"You wouldn't forbid it?" she questioned, arching a brow as if challenging Cyra who just scoffed.

"You're being ridiculous. Would you forbid it if Glimmer decided to date a girl?" Cyra retorted, earning a light sigh.

"Of course not, as a matter of fact I'd _love_ to see her make more friends, let alone be a normal teenager and get a date but you didn't answer my question." Angella retorted and Cyra shrugged.

"How I see it, as long as she's happy and is treated well... _ **and**_ treating her partner well... it's not anyone's business but her own. The only time I'll intervene is if she or her partner is being treated badly...But that doesn't mean I am not going to tease the hell out of those two."

"you're not at all like your mother." Angella noted aloud after a while, earning a light hiss from the magi-cat who bristled slightly.

"I sure the hell hope not. She may have loved me but she is the reason I joined the army as a grunt. I always wanted Catra to feel comfortable to come to me with anything. Something I never could have done with my mother and I am not hurting her like I was hurt and that poor child was hurt enough in the Fright Zone."

"I remember all too well that before you ascended you had to face trials just to _earn_ your place. I'm all for making sure someone knows how to handle themselves but..." Angella was careful with her words, not wanting her disgust toward the past to come out however Cyra just sighed.

"She saw me as weak...I wasn't a Magic user like the rest of my family. If I ever treat either Amur or Catra like that, I want you or even She-Ra to blast me full in the face."


	48. Chapter 48

"Come on chief. It could be fun!"

Catra didn't need to look at Scorpia to know that she was giving her some dumb pouty look

"and there is **no point** in me going so stop acting like a child and leave if you're going to." Catra retorted, trying to ignore the half-scorpion as much as she possibly could so that perhaps the older girl's begging would finally shut up and leave her alone with her thoughts—and the notebook in front of her.

"You've been acting weird for the past week and a half. I know you miss Anu, everyone who knew him does but he wouldn't want you locking yourself in your room for hours on end!" Scorpia reminded her, earning a glare from Catra who growled.

"Stop lecturing me like you know what's going on Scorpia! Jeez, don't you have someone else to bug?"she retorted, earning a sigh as she felt the familiar, heavy weight of a claw laying across her shoulder.

"Hey, I'm just worried about you. Everyone is really."

Catra sighed then and shook her head.

"I'm fine I just have a lot of shit on my mind and no one can help me with it."

Catra retorted, shrugging the claw off her shoulder before adding:

"And before you offer, no I **don't** want to talk about it. Come on, let's go to this dumb thing Bow and Perfuma invited us to."

She tried not to notice how Scorpia's eyes lit up at that—or how she suddenly found herself being lifted off the chair she had been sitting in by the taller girl.

"Yay! It would be so boring today if both of my best friends weren't there!" Scorpia's exclamation caused Catra to flinch and slip from the grip.

"and again I ask...What the hell is wrong with you? You're worse than the kittens on a sugar high." Catra said, shaking her head at the taller girl before heading toward the doorway, only to be stopped by Scorpia once again.

"Hey Catra, maybe you should bring your guitar! I mean, Dillion was thoughtful enough to grab it when they gathered supplies and stuff plus no one has heard you play before and since..."

Catra growled softly at the suggestion, cutting Scorpia off before she could continue.

"How about no. I am not making a fool of myself in front of everyone." She said, earning a scoff from her former teammate.

"Catra, you won't make a fool of yourself. I've heard you sing and you're great at it. Better than me, I sound like a dying elephant with it's trunk stuck!" Scorpia retorted, earning a look from Catra who really hoped she didn't looked as confused as she felt at that statement.

"What the hell does that even mean? You know what, never mind. Let's go before I change my mind and stay here."

"I swear, she's harmless."

Catra heard Adora say as soon as she walked up.

"I'm going to pretend you're not talking to me." she stated, flicking Adora with her tail as she walked past her and taking a seat beside the lake where Scorpia had set up.

"You did come! What took you so long chief?" Scorpia asked earning a sigh from the feline who shrugged.

"Lets see. There's two princesses here that I have never met and I'm pretty sure that they would rather drown me in this stream more than anything. Needless to say, I took my time getting here." Catra answered, leaning back against a tree and closing her eyes.

 _Okay so it is a nice day, I don't know if it'll be worth sitting around getting stared at by two haughty princesses._ She thought, letting herself drift into a light doze as she tried to make the most of the day.

"Oh my gosh! Look Catra! Isn't it so cute? It's so fluffy!"

Catra let out a groan as she opened her eyes, only to find herself face to face with a fluffy, yellow bird of some sort. Arching a brow at Scorpia she retorted

"Yeah I see it...Now put it back in the water where it belongs before the mother swims over here and attacks us." she retorted, pushing the aforementioned bird away from her, earning a honk from the tiny creature.

"Oh come on, don't you think _anything_ is cute?" Scorpia retorted, holding the creature up although Catra only rolled her eyes.

"No."

She knew that she was lying but Scorpia did not need to know that.

"But look at it's little face and it's so soft! Just feel Catra!"

She tried to ignore the other girl's peppy voice, that was until she felt a sudden sharp pain in her tail, which caused her to yelp and jump up, the offended appendage wrapping around her waist as she examined it for any bleeding.

"You better do something with that damned bird before I add it to the menu!" She growled, which drew the attention of everyone else.

"You okay Catra?" Adora called, earning a look from the feline in question.

"I just got attacked by a duck! What do you think?"

"why aren't you over there with Adora?"

The next disturbance came in the form of Kissana, which earned a growl from Catra who opened one eye.

"If you three little apes are here to tease me about Adora..." she began, letting the threat linger in the air before she glanced toward where Cyra was sitting "why aren't you three playing or something?"

"Because everyone is having a good time but you. You're not even trying." Kaz was the next to speak, earning a growl from Catra who turned her full attention on him.

"You guys can act like everything is all fine and dandy if you want to but..." Catra began, only to be cut off by the preteen.

"But what? But we don't have to worry about losing our families? That we haven't lost someone we care about? Maybe _**not**_ but Anu wouldn't want you to mope around like this. It may hurt but you have to learn to push through the pain, harness it and use it to push yourself farther but you can't let it control you." Kaz responded, smirking slightly before he added in a whisper:

"and if it's about your annoyingly obvious crush on a certain blonde haired goddess...Well I doubt Cyra's going to really do anything to you if you go for it, even if she does question it."

Catra didn't know rather to be impressed by the boy or smack him upside the head for that last part.

"I do _**not**_ have a crush on anyone so shut it."

She retorted, feeling heat crawl into her face upon saying those words.

"Oh you totally do. Otherwise you wouldn't give her little things. What about that...what was it you gave her last week?" Kissana teased, dodging a light—clawless-swipe from the older girl.

"So what? I brought her something I thought she'd like? Can't friends give each other things?" Catra retorted, earning a laugh from Kaz and Mecka.

"Yeah but you bring her something _every time_ you go out on patrol... _ **and**_ you let her get by with more than you let anyone else!" Mecka stated, earning a growl.

"I swear when I get my hands on you I am going to make you three regret ever saying that!" she stated, although it was obvious to anyone who had heard her that she didn't mean it.

"You gotta catch us first!"

"then you three better run!"

"Go on, it's not like Catra is going to hate you if she finds out. Heck, even if she doesn't return the feelings she'll just use it to inflate her already huge ego!" Glimmer said, pushing Adora toward where Catra had taken a seat by the water, a notebook laying beside of her.

"I don't think I can do it. I mean, what if her mom overhears or..." Adora began, earning a chuckle.

"Or you're a big chicken? Cyra is inside with my Mom and even Magi-cat hearing can't hear from that distance with all the chatter." Glimmer retorted "They have animal like senses, not god-like."

 _what would she say? How should she even go about this? Was it too soon? Was it bad timing all together since Anu had passed away not so long ago?_ Adora didn't even notice when she had reached Catra, until the other girl glanced up at her, one ear twitching toward the side.

"You okay Adora? Heart rate's kinda high there."

The feline's drawl snapped her out of her thoughts—but unfortunately didn't help her brain process any of the words she wished to say.

"Yeah...Uh...I'm not bothering you am I?"

Catra let out a light laugh at this and shook her head.

"You sure you feeling okay? You're being weirder than usual." Catra retorted, motioning for the other girl to take a seat beside of her.

"uh yeah...Why do you keep asking?"

Adora answered, really feeling the urge to face palm because how lame she was sure she sounded.

They set in silence for some time, neither sure what to say or do. At least until Adora noticed the note book, which lay open.

"What is this? Poetry?" she asked, feeling Catra stiffen beside of her.

"Lyrics actually...and it's not done yet."

Catra's answer was the last thing that Adora expected to hear.

"I didn't know that you could sing." she stated, watching as Catra's tail coiled around her body.

"Most people don't." Catra answered nonchalantly "Anu kind convinced me to put my emotions into words in hopes it would help me with my nightmares. It kind of did, for a while anyway."

"You still have nightmares?" Adora questioned, reaching for the feline's hand and earning a sigh.

"yeah, well we've both been through a lot of shit." Catra responded, glancing down at their hands with a furrowed brow before she turned her hand upward, interlocking their fingers.

They sat like that for a while, not speaking but not moving either.

"Well isn't this unexpected...The Heir apparent of the royal family of Half-Moon getting all friendly with not only a former horde soldier but another _female_ to top it off."

Catra stiffened at the voice before standing and turning toward the speaker, tail lashing about.

"Amur shut up and go find someone else to intimidate because _I'm_ not fucking afraid of you." she said, fists clenching at her sides.

"Ooh feisty. What do you think your _mother_ would say to your... _infatuation_...With this girl? She may not see you for what you really are but everyone else already does and even she won't accept something _this_ dishonorable!" Amur stated, smirking as he watched her visibly flinch.

"Shut up! I am _nothing_ you say I am!"

Catra snarled, ears pinning backward.

"Oh really? Then maybe I _should_ remind you what it is that you have done...or what you very nearly did." Amur said and before either Catra or Adora could react an orb of ginger colored light hit Catra, sending her flying backward.


	49. Chapter 49

_**All she could see and smell was the coppery, sweet scent of blood and it made her sick to her stomach. Glancing around she felt her stomach drop as she saw the carnage around her. The kittens, her mother, everyone lay motionless around her.**_

 _ **Then she looked down and saw the blaster in her own hand.**_

 _ **'What happened? When did...Did I do this? Did I...'**_

 _ **Catra couldn't help but wonder as she struggled not to be sick as tears began to form in her eyes. How could she have done something like this? Why did she let this happen?**_

 _ **Glancing down at the shattered chest plate of her mother's armor she fell herself sink to her knees.**_

 _ **'Just like Dad.'**_

 _ **She thought bitterly.**_

 _ **'I killed her just like I got him killed.'**_

Adora didn't even need to think about what she was doing when she brought her fist as hard as possible into Amur's stomach, watching as he staggered backward.

"I don't know what the hell you were thinking but straight up attacking her? You're nothing but a coward!" she said, glancing over at Perfuma and Bow who were knelt beside of Catra—who lay motionless on the grass.

"Is she okay?" she asked just as Cyra and Dillion rushed over.

"Still out of it. What did Amur hit her with?" Bow answered, earning a look from Amur who then turned her full attention to Amur who flinched backward.

"What the hell did you do to her, _Boy_ and you better tell me now or so help me..." Cyra began although she cut herself off with what only could be called a snarl before turning toward Dillion who had went over to see to the unconscious Catra.

"Memory spell...Cyra...Try to connect with her since you both are bound to the rune stone." the old man stated, earning a nod from Cyra who made her way over to her daughter's side.

Amur began to walk away from the scene, obviously shaken by the queen's anger however suddenly a flash of blinding light caused him to stagger back.

"I think your aunt still has some things to say to you."

Everyone turned to see Queen Angella standing there, a crowd starting to gather around them.

Catra groaned as she became aware of a hand running through her hair and something incredibly warm laying over her. She winced as she opened her eyes, only to see the familiar scarred face of Cyra looking down at her.

"Mom? Y-You're alive? But how? I had the blaster...I saw..."

She began, earning a growl from her mother.

"You didn't do anything Catra...From what I hear you and Adora were talking when Amur cast a illusion spell on you. Whatever you saw was sent to you by him." Cyra said softly as she helped Catra to sit up.

"Bastard..." Catra muttered, clenching tightly to the cape that had been wrapped around her as tears spilled down her face.

"It felt so real...I thought that I had killed everyone! You, Adora, even the kittens." she murmured, feeling her mother go ridgided beside of her.

"What kind of bastard does that to anyone, let alone his own family!" she could hear Adora shouting, followed by a Amur "You call Catra a monster because she was in the Horde? Well guess what, you are just as bad as the Horde is! Using the same cheap tactics!"

"Just like Shadow Weaver..." Catra managed to get out as she glared up at the young man through her tears. "Just because I am not who you think I should be. Well guess what, you can have the throne if you want...I don't care. I make my _**own**_ path in this world, no one is controlling me...Not anymore!"

Before anyone could react Amur suddenly had multiple bleeding gashes across his chest and back. Then with a growl, he struck back, his fist making contact with Catra's stomach although she recovered quickly.

Cyra stood in silence, watching the fight with narrowed eyes. Whatever this was about, this was needed before someone ended up injured far worse than a few cuts and bruises.

"Adora, tell me what happened here tonight. All of it. I knew Amur acted out with jealousy toward Catra however I did not ever expect _this_ from him." she said eventually, gaze never leaving dueling teenagers although she could feel Adora stiffen at the question.

"Don't be afraid Adora, I assure you the only person I am going to be angry with is Amur because _this_ is not called for no matter what." she added, hoping to sooth the blonde's fears.

And so Adora told her everything that was said and as soon as she was done Cyra stepped forward, grabbing both her daughter and nephew by the back of the collar.

"Amur go with Dillion and get cleaned up then wait for me in my chambers. Catra, go with Angella, I'll send one of the healers in to look after you as well." she ordered, although her eyes didn't leave Amur—who shrank under the look.

Catra couldn't stop fiddling with her tail as she sat in the medical bay, waiting not only to be discharged but to talk to her mother.

"Catra, stop fussing. Cyra isn't mad at _you,_ after you two left she went to talk to some of the older Magi-cat's about Amur." Adora assured, earning a look.

"Amur isn't the only person who has mentioned that rule about heirs! I mean I may like you but..." As soon as she had realized what she had said she stopped, her face turning crimson as she glanced down.

"Wait you...So Glimmer and Bow weren't being delusional for once?" Adora asked, feeling herself blushing as she glanced over at Catra.

"Ugh...Look we can forget this whole damn thing happened. It's just a stupid thing and..."

Catra began only to be cut off by Adora who quickly said.

"I like you too."

Catra felt as though she had choked on air as soon as she heard that.

"Wait you mean...was that why you kept being weird tonight? I mean you were weird for a while now but tonight was weirder than usual." Catra asked, earning a sigh.

"I was going to tell you but I was afraid that it was the wrong time. I mean you've been through so much and then I didn't want to freak you out or get you in trouble with your mom." Adora began, only to feel Catra's tail lightly bat her on the arm before wrapping around briefly.

"I've liked you for a long time...Since we were little more than kids really. But hell, we were on the opposite sides of the field and I was just your sidekick...Then you found that damned sword and all that happened and you know I've always been pretty much shit with emotions." Catra retorted, glancing over at Adora who's eyes had gone wide at that.

"For that long? Really? Why didn't you ever say anything?" Adora questioned, earning a scoff.

"because dumbass, I always felt like you wouldn't even give it a thought before saying no. After all you were everyone's favorite and I was just some nobody."

Catra answered, her tail draping back across her lap where she tightened her hold on it again as a silence passed between them.

"you're worried about what your mom is going to say, aren't you?" Adora guessed, earning a sigh from the feline who's ears suddenly pinned back.

"Kinda...I mean she's the only person who has _ever_ said they were proud of me and I _hate_ the idea of being alone again but I don't want to be controlled again either and I really do like you and..." Catra answered, closing her eyes to fight back the tears that pushed behind them.

Neither of the teenagers noticed that Cyra had appeared in the doorway, leaning there listening in on the pair until she finally spoke.

"So this is what all the fighting has been about? You liking girls? Did Amur tell you that I would disown you if I found out?"


	50. Chapter 50

Cyra tried not to show her irritation when Catra flinched away from her touch, not that she was irritated at the girl for it, no. She was annoyed at Amur and everyone else who had dared hurt the poor girl so much that she had come to expect to be hurt.

"Relax, I'm just making sure that the healers didn't miss anywhere. After all, you're not the one who deserves to have a bit of pain left over from today." she said, trying to keep her voice low and even as she gingerly prodded any area that could have came into contact with Amur's fist or magic.

The silence that fell over them was almost staggering, neither knowing how to tackle this topic at all and it didn't help that Catra was still holding to her own tail as if it was some form of saftey net.

"You didn't let them do more than do a body scan for life threatening things did you?"Cyra noticed when a light touch to Catra's back caused the teen to stiffen.

"No."

The answer was simple but it said a lot.

"Alright, well will you let _me_ patch you up? I promise to be gentle and if you want, Adora can come back in...After all there isn't anything I wanted to say to you that I wont say in front of her." Cyra offered, only to hear a soft hiss in response.

"If you're going to lecture me or kick me or whatever you can do it now without any witnesses. You don't have to do one final act of mercy on me or whatever..." Catra said, not daring to look up in fear that the anger she had saw on the woman's face earlier would be directed at her.

"Kick you out? Let me guess, because of Adora?" Cyra retorted, taking a seat beside her on the bed before asking "What did Amur tell you Catra? That I would disown you? That I'd challenge you? Let me make something very clear to you. I am not the kind to deny someone of chances to prove themselves no matter how I personally feel about what they have done, Nor am I the one who would make a large issue regarding their personal lives as long as no one is being harmed."

Cyra cringed at how formal she sounded, after all this was her daughter she was speaking to and yet she sounded dictatorial.

 _Tora was defiently better at dealing with matters of the emotions than I am_

she thought before drawing in a breath.

"Catra," this time her voice was softer "Your grandmother would have lost her head if I had gotten caught with a girl, even worse than she did when I told her I was engaged to Tora rather she liked it or not. I thought having different rules for elite and common cats were stupid then and I still think so now."

Again Cyra paused, leaning down and pressing her lips to the teen's forehead before adding

"and I am most certainly not going to disown you because of who you date. Now let's get you fixed up the best we can without magical intervention."

It was easy to tell that Adora was worried, especially since Cyra and Catra had both been alone for a long time. Cyra hadn't seemed all that angry or even disgusted by any of what she had overheard. But what if that had only been a ruse in front of Adora? What if she _had_ gotten Catra in trouble with Cyra?

However before she could worry about it too much, the door opened and Catra came limping out, followed by Cyra. The first thing besides the bandages and the limp that Adora noticed was that Catra wasn't wearing her mask, instead carrying it.

 _Wasn't those masks a sign of power for the Magi-cat's? Did that mean that Cyra had reacted badly?_

She wondered, at least that was until Cyra spoke.

"Stop worrying. I didn't hurt her...much anyway,if the fuss she made while I was treating her back was any indication. You'd have thought I was skinning her." the queen stated, earning a punch to the arm by Catra.

"Mom, shut up!"

Cyra just arched a brow at that

"what's wrong kitten? Don't wanna look weak in front of your girlfriend?"


	51. Chapter 51

"I don't know why you won't let them heal me...I didn't bring blood." Amur hissed as he let Cyra treat the wounds on his back.

"Because what you did was far _**worse**_ than a few scratches. How would you like it if someone not only used the thing you feared the most but made you not only relive your parent's death but also the death of everyone you ever loved?" Cyra responded, her voice hardening.

"She doesn't deserve to be queen! Look what she did to Bright Moon! Look what the Horde did to us!" he stated, earning a sigh.

"Yet you still liked her before you knew she had the birthright of the throne. Amur, jealousy is a dangerous thing and if Anu were here he would probably be a lot harsher about this than I. I know he was like a father to you but do you ever think that perhaps Catra saw him in a similar way? She had _**no one**_ her whole life and you made her face that kind of loneliness all over again." she reminded him, the chill never leaving her tone as she finished applying bandages.

"All she had as a kitten was Adora. You had many friends and people who cared about you. From what Catra told me, she was hurt just for the smallest of mistakes. Now think on _**that**_ while you help with the repairs they have to do here and I better not hear tell of any more of this jealousy nonsense or you'll really see what my bad side is like. I love you as though you were my son _but_ that doesn't excuse your behavior nor does that mean that I will tolerate it."

Cyra said, turning to leave the room only to be stopped by what her nephew said next.

"If it were her you wouldn't be like this."

Cyra had to bite back a growl at that.

"wouldn't I? While it is true that she has been given hell her whole life, I would not excuse her of this sort of behavior either Amur. The only reason I chose to force you to endure the physical pain like this is because after your little stunt the girl nearly panicked at the _thought_ of me allowing a healer to heal her so while you only have a sore back, she is _**covered**_ in bruises and scrapes."

* * *

"You know you're going to end up overdosing on _**whatever**_ that is you're chewing on." Adora said although Catra just rolled her eyes.

"It'll kill the pain and I'll finally be able to get to sleep. Besides, I don't think there is a lethal dose." Catra countered before shifting once again until she was lying on her stomach.

"I haven't been _this_ sore since Shadow Weaver..."

The feline began to say but allowed herself to trail off, her tail lashing about uncomfortably at the thought.

"don't think about her. You know what, don't think about the past at all. You've got a lot of people who care about you now and then there's your _mom._ Just seeing how protective everyone became toward you today should have should you that Shadow Weaver was wrong about you." Adora said, gingerly placing a hand on Catra's shoulder.

It wasn't even an hour later that Adora was surprised by heavy pressure suddenly appearing on her stomach, causing her to glance down to see that it was none other than Catra.

"Ugh...Catra, I don't mind you staying in here but I'd like to get some sleep tonight." She stated, trying to push the other girl away only to earn a whine.

"I'm not going anywhere, you're warm."

Catra retorted, sounding a lot more like a kid than the young adult that she was—which confused Adora because there was no way in hell that Catra would _ever_ use that tone. Then it dawned on her, Catra was literally high from those leaves she had eaten.

"and you're heavy. Why can't you just lay on the bed like a normal person besides nearly squishing me?" Adora retorted, rolling her eyes at Catra slowly moved to the right a bit, taking most of the pressure off her before lightly headbutting Adora's shoulder— _something that Adora had noticed that a much younger Catra would do while half asleep—_ and glanced up at her.

"Better?"

Catra's words were slurring now and Adora could _swear_ she said it with a purr.

"Yeah, Thanks."

Adora couldn't help but absentmindedly beginning to run a hand through Catra's hair after a while—a habit she had developed sometime during their early teen years—Feeling as Catra leaned into the touch and the hint of the rumble turned louder and practically caused the smaller built female to vibrate.

She had never seen Catra so willing to be touched before, let alone to actually nestle closer to _anyone_ while awake, however before she could say or do anything else Catra spoke up again.

"I wrote it about you...ya know?"

If Adora wasn't already confused, she was now.

"What?"

Catra moved to sit up, tail waving lazily as she turned toward the blonde.

"The song I've been working on. It's about you. Dunno how good it will sound once set to music though." she said before curling back up, although this time against Adora's side before adding

"you smell good. I never noticed before."

Adora felt heat crawl into her face at that before turning away in an attempt to hide her reaction from the rather drunk Magi-cat. However, to her surprise, she heard a giggle from her former enemy before she felt something somewhere between a lick and a kiss touching her cheek.

"you're cute when you're embarrassed, you know that?"

"Just go to sleep Catra."

"Aww...What's wrong? Embarrassed? And here I thought you liked me." Catra retorted, tail lightly wrapping around Adora's arm as she said this.

"I do like you but go to sleep."


	52. Chapter 52

Catra awoke sometime around noon feeling as though she hadn't just slept half the day away. The second thing she noticed was that she was curled up on Adora's bed and hugging a pillow. Groaning groggily she sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

She could feel her back protesting each movement as she tried to stand up and headed toward the bathroom.

When she finally headed into the dining hall she was surprised to see that Cyra was still sitting in there alone, tail flickering idly as she was looking over some kind of documents.

"Morning sleepy head. Adora told us you had a hard night and needed the herbs that they gave you. You feeling okay now?" Cyra asked, sliding a plate toward her as Catra took a seat.

"sore and I feel like that time Scorpia accidentally stung me. Does that...Whatever you called it...Suppose to make you groggy?" Catra asked before beginning to eat.

"From what Adora told me, you took a leaf and a half too many." Cyra chuckled, her tail lightly flicking the teenager's leg as she added "She said you were a bit cuddly last night."

Catra felt her face flush and dipped her head down slightly to avoid her mother's playful gaze.

"Don't even go there...I don't want to know what I did." Catra retorted, only to earn another light flick from her mother's tail—a teasing, playful gesture that had became common between them.

"Adora seemed to think it was adorable...even if you did keep her up half the night by needing attention." Cyra responded, earning a light hiss from her daughter who tried to keep her attention on her plate of food.

Cyra chuckled at that response and lightly nuzzled against Catra's temple before adding "stop trying to be a hard ass, it was just your crush, girlfriend whatever you two are. Even the toughest people needs to show the people they love that they can be gentle and loving."

Catra blushed harder at that and lightly batted at her mother to push her off.

"Mom, you're embarrassing me." she growled, only to hear her mother laugh again.

"Pretty sure parents are supposed to do that, it's in the manual."

Angella could hear the young magi-cat sighing every once in a while as she lay at an odd angle over a chair, nearly upside down. The queen of Bright-Moon looked over at her, arching a brow and wondering how it was that the girl could move like that without hurting herself.

"Bored?" she guessed after a while, earning a sigh.

"No, what gave you that idea?" Catra retorted, sarcasm dripping from every word "the fact that I'm the _**only**_ person who doesn't have anything to do today besides sit around and sleep?"

"Why don't you read a book or something? I'm pretty sure you could find something to do." Queen Angella retorted, trying to hide her amusement at the idea that one of the people that had once caused her so much trouble was literally whining about being bored like a child.

" _Or_ you could let me do something productive that would _actually_ matter." Catra responded, earning a chuckle.

"How about you do what your mother asked of you and actually rest for a day? Or would you rather go find Cyra and take this up with her?"

Angella tried to hide her amusement when she saw the young girl's ears flatten at the suggestion.

"uh...How about no."

Amur wanted to hate both his cousin and his aunt as he raked the debris from the ruined village up into one pile. However he couldn't seem to, not entirely. After all Cyra _had_ raised him even though there wasn't a drop of royalty in him.

Plus this was the first time she had ever even came close to being this harsh.

"You're bleeding again."

He nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard Cyra's voice come from behind him.

"Isn't _that_ what you wanted? To see me suffer because I hurt _your_ cub?" he retorted, not even looking toward her.

A hand gripping his shoulder caused him to turn to face the woman

"Do you think that is what this is about? I _**raised you**_ as I would my own, do you think that I want to see you hurting? Amur this is the _last_ thing I ever wanted to resort to but when I tried to talk to you, you didn't seem to care."

Amur didn't dare make eye contact with her, shrugging away from her.

"Yeah right...If the war hadn't happened I would have been in some orphanage somewhere...Not in the palace. Don't pretend that I don't know how this sort of thing works, you only tolerate shit from Catra because she's the _heir."_

He stated before turning to walk off, only to feel pressure on his tail as someone grabbed it.

"If the war didn't start you and Catra would have grown up together and I most certainly would not have left you alone for all those years. Now, as for Catra getting by with things...She doesn't. I just prefer not to make a scene or give her flashbacks from the fright zone because I ended up saying the wrong thing. _You_ don't fear me, _she_ still does. Do you get what I am saying?" The queen of the magi-cats asked as she let go of his tail, sighing as she tried to figure out how in the universe she got stuck having this conversation with a _nineteen year old._

"Wait...She's afraid of you? Why? Even I'm not afraid of you!"

Cyra _really_ felt the need to facepalm at that. Had he not been listening to her the previous night.

"Authority figures basically treated her like shit, to summarize everything she told me before. You _know_ the difference between someone being angry and someone just wanting to hurt you, She doesn't. What you did to her last night probably undone _everything_ that I have been trying to help her deal with." She answered, sighing as she added

"Come on, we need to get you to a healer...I think that is the third time you've ripped something open and I'm not letting you get an infection. But you're expected to pull your weight with these clean up efforts."


	53. Chapter 53

It was late and Catra's back ached from the scratches and bruises there but she was restless, even if it was night and she probably _should_ by all means be in bed. But she just couldn't get herself to sleep, not when she had this much energy.

So she slid the sheath containing her light paw onto her belt and headed outside and away from the palace to where it was less likely she would be caught doing anything her mother would probably kill her for, expecting to get some training in so that she could at least go to bed _sometime_ that night.

What she didn't count on was to find a certain blonde doing the same thing she planned to do.

 _It seems I'm not the only person who couldn't sleep._

The half-feline thought as she slowly approached the blonde, waiting for her to sit down and catch her breath before tackling her from behind, earning a yelp of surprise before Adora shoved her off.

"Catra! When are you going to grow up?"

Catra flinched slightly at the accusation in her voice—something that wasn't there the previous day—and at the tone that Adora rarely took on.

"Geez, sorry. I was just messing around. What's up with you tonight?"

She watched as Adora let out a huff before seemingly deflating.

"I know...Sorry. I just couldn't sleep and..." Adora began, feeling a Catra's tail lightly wrap around her lower back as Catra rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, it's fine. Want to talk about it?"

Adora flinched a bit at those words. How many times had Catra spent the night listening to her prattle on when she herself had been keeping things bottled up?

"No, it's fine. I'm just getting wrapped up in my own head again...You know...Like _**everyone**_ always said I did." Adora answered, drawing her knees to her chest and resting her head against them.

Catra sighed then and removed her jacket, draping it over the taller girl.

"Yeah well, the fact that you are emotional is what makes you, you." she retorted, nuzzling against her lightly before asking: "Is this a Shadow Weaver thing?"

Adora shook her head.

"Not really...It's a I'm a really fucked up thing."

Catra let out a snort at that

"Poor, naive, Adora. You think you're a fuck up? You are literally _everybody's_ hero and you literally can lift a cart, horse and all above your head. _That_ is pretty cool. Not to mention the fact that you put everyone first and ignoring your own stuff. I know _I_ couldn't do that."

Adora glared up at her at that.

"Oh yeah, but yet I ignored shit that happened right under my nose for years...I was always so eager to make people happy that I..." She began, only to suddenly be stopped by Catra's tail wrapping around her face.

"Adora, we were _kids._ _ **You**_ were _raised_ by Shadow Weaver and although she was a suck-y one, she was basically your mom in a lot of ways. Now I'm going to let you finish but so help me if you keep on trying to blame yourself for everything I will gag you." Catra told her, slowly uncurling her tail only to have it roughly batted away by the blonde.

"Ugh, you got fur in my mouth!"

Catra let out a laugh at that although Adora lightly elbowed her.

"I'm trying to be serious and you are acting like a giant kitten!"

Catra sighed and lightly nudged her.

"Hey, at least you're smiling a little now. You can't _always_ be the one cheering people up." Catra said before falling back onto the grass.

"I mean all that was hard on both of us. You were the _golden child,_ everyone expected perfection from you and then when you left, Shadow Weaver left me a lot worse off than I am right now and I hated you for it...I really did because you didn't let me come and I got stuck taking the beating but after everything...I kind of realized something...you really _didn't_ realize how bad it was. Sure you saw me get slapped around but you didn't know what went on behind closed doors."

Catra _really_ didn't want to talk about this but she knew that Adora deserved to understand everything about what had happened between them.

"Catra, I wish I _had_ known. I would have..." Adora began, earning a look that clearly said _shut up._

"No you wouldn't have...You would have been even more afraid to disappoint Shadow Weaver. I get that...Hell, at one point I wanted her to be proud of me too but that never happened." Catra retorted as her brow furrowed.

"You know, I wanted you to feel as hurt as I did. I wanted you to suffer at my own hand but in reality...I was just really fucking heart broken that you just left me like I was nothing. After seeing the graves in Half-Moon, I understand why you had to leave. I just wish that it could have happened differently."

Adora was at a loss for words, although tears pushed at her eyes.

"I have nightmares you know...About everything that happened. Sometimes in the dreams you kill me, other times I kill you and I don't know which is worse. We fought so long and hard against each other that just being _near_ you and acting like we did before this mess started...It feels like some kind of dream and when I think about what you said...about how I _**failed**_ you I can't help but wonder if maybe _**I'm**_ the monster here...I mean what if it's just my ego that is driving me? What if that's why I don't understand the full extent of She-Ra's power? Maybe Light Hope is right, maybe I shouldn't be trying to live a double life."

Everything she had been thinking and feeling just came gushing out then and she couldn't help but wonder if she said to much when she felt Catra shift beside of her.

That was until she felt the other girl's arms wrap around her from behind.

"Yeah, listen to a trillion year old computer program that can't even answer simple questions. Adora, you didn't fail me, we were just kids who were both trying to please the people we looked up to and if anyone's the monster, it's me. I actually destroyed places Adora, who knows how many people I have killed for no reason except Hordak's orders. Plus your ego has _never_ really made you do more than be insufferable whenever we teamed up in simulations. You want to protect people...I want to surpass the limits people set for me. I'm pretty sure I'm the egomaniac here."

Catra said, brushing her cheek against Adora's with a light purr before she added:

"Come on, let's go inside. It's getting chilly and unlike _me_ you don't have anything besides my jacket to keep you warm."

Adora wasn't sure what to think when Catra lead her toward her own room before she vanished down the hall once again, her weapon laying abandoned on the bed beside Adora, who curiously picked it up. It was old, that was for certain, and battle worn. But what really caught Adora's attention was that the blade was very thin and flimsy—not strong enough for combat.

So why did she have it? It wasn't like Catra to keep a useless weapon.

She was still looking at it when Catra walked back in, carrying two steaming mugs.

"It's called a light paw, basically Entrapta's plasma welder on steroids. The magi-cats basically combined magical energy and melee combat to give the perfect lightweight weapon. I would show you _but_ I'm pretty sure that Angella wouldn't be exactly forgiving if I accidentally set something on fire." the cat-like girl explained with a small grin as she handed a cup to Adora.

"it's Valerian. It should help you get to sleep. You've been busy all day, you need your rest."

Later that night while laying in bed beside Adora—who had curled up nearly into a ball against Catra's side at some point—the smaller built female couldn't help but trace her hands over the other girl's back, feeling the raised areas where scar tissue had built up all too quickly in the areas where Catra's own claws had torn the skin.

She had wanted to hurt Adora then, wanted her to feel the same pain that she had caused her.

But just like later that night, guilt pushed at her mind.

"hey Adora?"

She didn't dare speak above a whisper, despite the fact that she knew she was going to wake the girl up.

"What is it now Catra?"

the sleepy mumble came, causing the feline to chuckle softly before turning serious again.

"Why me? Why after everything I did...After how much I hurt you. Why did you still keep hoping I would change? I became a terrible person." She asked, only to feel a light kiss against her cheek.

"Because I _know_ you. You're the kind of person who acts first, thinks later and even when I had to fight you, I hated it because I knew that deep down you were still the same person I grew up with...the same person I called my best friend."

Catra exhaled at that before pulling the other girl a tad bit closer.

"That means a lot, even after everything I've done you've never given up on me and I can promise you that I will never hurt you again...I mean I am a smart ass and I don't pretend not to be but I can try...if you will have me."

Catra said softly, earning a light laugh.

"Catra, do you think that I would have told you if I didn't want to try?"


	54. Chapter 54

"I don't know why I can't help! I'm not hurt _that_ bad! It's been two days!"

"This isn't up for discussion Catra!"

"I've been through _**worse**_ and kept going! Unlike you, who just ran away!"

Catra froze when she saw Cyra's expression turn from irritated to actually angry, taking a full step back when her mother took a step toward her.

"Go to your room, **now.** I will _not_ be talked to like this."

Cyra practically snarled, fists clenching at her sides as she tried not to react in any way that would leave her more scarred than Shadow Weaver had already.

It didn't take long for Catra to actually obey and Cyra sighed as she leaned back against the wall, trying to calm herself down. She knew she would have to talk to Catra later, especially since she had basically just lost her temper on the girl—but not now—she knew better than _that._

"I heard _that_ from two rooms down. Are you alright?"

Cyra glanced up to see Angella standing there, a concerned look on her face.

"How do you deal with putting up with living with two teenagers around constantly?" Cyra responded, earning a chuckle from the older woman.

"They're teenagers. They don't think clearly _and_ they are emotional at best. Give time for the both of you to calm down and then go talk to her. She may have crossed a line _but_ that doesn't mean you have to let her by with everything either."

Angella responded, earning a sigh.

"She was literally _beaten_ as a kid, Angella. I don't want to make her afraid of me and I have lost my temper on Amur for his smart mouth before and I _**don't**_ want to lose it and hit her like I did him. Amur understood that he stepped too far, I don't think Catra _would._ " Cyra responded, watching as her friend's eyes widened in surprise at this new information.

"I didn't know it was _**that**_ bad. I mean Adora didn't talk much about it but..." she began earning a sigh.

"Catra was the whipping boy it seems...Any mistakes...She was punished for. There for a long while she would flinch if I just brushed past her in the hall. She tries to be so strong but she should just get to be a normal youth." the queen of the magi-cats said.

"I have never seen her that mad, Adora and trust me...I've had her mad at me countless times. I mean I spent roughly three months living with her. I thought she was going to hit me for a split second." Catra was ranting from her perch on the bed.

"You think that Cyra really was going to do that? I mean she seems really cool headed." Adora questioned, watching as Catra's ears and tail both drooped.

"Yeah...I mean she was pretty mad and _isn't_ that a normal reaction when you get mad? Lash out at the source of that anger?" Catra answered with a shrug as Adora came over to her side.

"I don't know but I know I won't just let people start treating you like some kind of punching bag. I made that mistake once." Adora replied, putting an arm around Catra's shoulders.

Cyra sighed as she paused outside of Catra's room, hearing nothing from inside besides the soft sound of music. She gave a light knock, listening as the room went deadly silent. Then within the next moment she was surprised when the door opened, only for a sword to be pointed at her face.

Although that didn't last long since in a flash of shades of orange, Cyra slapped the blade from Adora's hands.

"if you have a probably with me, _**tell me**_. Don't make just make threats because _She-Ra_ or not, you're still just a kid _and_ I don't take kindly to anyone shoving a blade in my face." Cyra said, glaring down at the teenager.

"Well there is no way in hell I'm letting you hurt her!"

Cyra arched a brow at that and shook her head.

"Just because I _yell_ at her doesn't mean I'm going to hurt her. I actually came to talk to her before I had a brat stick a sword in my face." she stated, watching as the sheepish look came over the blonde's face.

"Sorry...I just thought..."

A large hand pressing against the top of her as soon as she had said that. A strong, but playful maneuver that seemed to settle both of the teen's nerves.

"I _**know**_ and I thank you for being loyal to her like that." the queen stated before looking toward her daughter and adding "Catra, we do need to talk and it seems like it should be about more than just what happened earlier."

Catra just nodded, obviously not looking to this talk.

After Adora finally left them alone, Catra watched as Cyra walked over to the bed and took a seat.

"Were you really afraid I was going to hurt you?" the queen asked, earning a sigh.

"You know _why_ I'm like that, Besides you were _really_ mad and despite _**not**_ being an awful person, I still don't know how to deal with you sometimes." Catra answered, her voice almost too low for even Cyra to hear.

"I know sweetheart and I shouldn't have lost my temper earlier but you have got to be the most stubborn cub I have _ever_ met." Cyra retorted, reaching over and gingerly rubbing at her daughter's ears.

"And I shouldn't have been so disrespectful but I am so tired of just sitting around. I _want_ to help." Catra said, glancing up only to earn a light lick from the elder magi-cat.

"yes but your back was torn up pretty bad not to mention that bump you had to the head. Just a few more days and you can start working a bit. Until then, you are going to rest and if there is any more arguments about it you can be confined to this room." Cyra said before sighing.

"I can't even begin to describe how it felt seeing you laying there unconscious. I know I may seem like a jerk sometimes but I couldn't live with myself if I let something happen to you because I went against my own instincts and didn't say no."

Catra nodded at that and leaned against her.

"I understand and I'm sorry. You're not a coward, you just did what it took for your people, I was just being an ass."

The sound that came from Cyra's chest was a mix between a purr and a chuckle.

"Nah, you're being a teenager and I'm just an annoying mother." the Magi-cat Queen retorted, earning a chuckle from Catra—who leaned against Cyra then.

They sat like that for some time before Catra finally spoke.

"I know that you must have felt as though I had slapped you or something because I insulted you and called you a coward just because you did the smart thing after you had been hurt beyond everything."

Cyra sighed then but only offered a light growl before she responded

"Now you understand why I nearly lost my temper but know this, Catra. No matter what happens between us or if I lose my temper or not...I will _**always**_ love you. Can you try to understand that?"

Catra stiffened then but nodded once more.

"Yeah, I get it. I love you too."


	55. Chapter 55

"Okay, what's wrong with you?"

Catra couldn't help but ask as soon as she walked into the room Scorpia had been using, only to find the older girl looking downtrodden. What made it worse was that Scorpia's mood didn't change upon seeing her.

"oh hey Catra, I didn't hear you walk in."

Scorpia's response was enough to set Catra on guard.

 _What on earth? Did she just not call me some dumb nickname that makes me want to puke?_ _Now I know something is seriously wrong._

"Uh-huh...I can tell. What's up? You're not bubbly as usual. You feeling alright?" Catra asked, moving to set down by the taller girl who sighed and glanced down.

"No one sees _me_ here Catra, they see my _father."_

Scorpia answered, her voice trembling slightly as she pulled her knees to her chest.

"Your father was one of the generals in the Horde, Right?" Catra replied, unsure of what he had to do with how people viewed Scorpia.

"He was the one who lead the attack on Bright-Moon...The battle that killed King Micah. I can't believe you didn't know that...Didn't you pay attention in our history class?" Scorpia replied, earning a sigh.

"Well you're not him and if they can't see that then they can shut the hell up." Catra retorted as she put a hand on the other girl's shoulder.

However before they either could say anything a blinding flash of pink light appeared in the dark room with a audible pop. This earned a hiss from Catra, who not only covered her eyes but also dipped behind Scorpia.

"Why is it that whenever you're around I always end up blind and with a headache?" Catra growled, only for her retort to be ignored as Glimmer caught her breath.

"Catra! I've been looking everywhere for you! Adora's been hurt." Glimmer said after a few seconds and Catra's blood ran cold.

"What happened?"

She demanded, earning a sigh from Glimmer.

"She was helping load some of the rubble into a wagon and had to revert from She-Ra due to exhaustion. Everything was going fine until _someone_ just lugged a armful of stuff onto the pile and somehow Adora's arm got caught beneath it and I'm pretty sure that it's broken."

Cyra sighed as she glanced over the stained glass windows that memorialized the former King of Bright-Moon. Memories about times she had traveled to Bright-Moon with her husband just to visit him.

"I heard about the attack on Bright-Moon a month after everything went to hell."

She spoke with a bitter tone as her tail lashed about behind her as her fists clenched.

"you know, I _**hated**_ you... _ **hated**_ everything about the alliance. Then when I heard what happened with Micah I couldn't help but feel for you...especially since you were trying to explain everything to a _toddler."_

A silence passed over them after that, although after a few minutes Angella spoke again.

"What made you trust us this time? What made you trust Catra?" she questioned, earning a sigh from the Magi-Cat who turned toward her.

"Because you had lost just as much as I did...And because Tora would have wanted me to understand the whole picture...Understand that two simultaneous attacks would have pulled any alliance thin...and to understand that Hunga and her troops as well as were the true traitors." She paused and glanced toward the queen then, eyes closing briefly.

"Because after that second night...After I saw her break down at the realization of what the Horde _**truly**_ had her do..I realized one thing. Most of the Horde were just _**children**_ _ **raised**_ to be pawns in this stupid war and that Catra, no matter how _dangerous_ she was is still just a kid looking for answers, answers she could only find in Half-Moon"

A heavy silence passed over them then, both getting wrapped up in their own thoughts. That was, until they heard panicked voices coming from down the hall.

"Now What's going on?"

Adora felt sick to her stomach as she held her arm at her chest, trying to ignore the blood that was staining her jacket. She was pretty sure if she looked down she would pass out—not from the sight of the blood but from the pain.

That was until she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm no healer _but_ I do know basic first Aid."

Looking up she was surprised to find that it was Amur standing there.

"Even if you do rip it off I doubt that would hurt any worse." Adora retorted, earning a chuckle as he sat down, one hand glowing blue while it hovered over the bleeding lump of skin while his other easily ripped through the clean, white T-shirt that he had been wearing.

"I'll wrap it...That should do until you can get to medical bay." He explained, brow furrowing as he went to work "Sorry if this hurts...I wasn't advanced enough in magic to learn how to do a simple nerve block."

"Don't worry...I can handle pain...Grew up in the Fright-Zone, remember?" Adora retorted earning a scoff.

"Yeah, as if I believe that. You're as white as a ghost. Fright-Zone or not...You have a compound fracture...Pretty sure that would hurt no matter how tough you are."

He retorted.

He was almost done with getting the bleeding under control when it felt as though a bowling ball had hit him from the side, knocking her back.

"What are you doing to her?"

Not even missing a beat, Amur arched a brow up at his cousin who was practically sitting on his chest.

"I _**was**_ applying First Aid before your dumb ass decided to pounce on me." he retorted before pushing her off. "Don't believe me, ask your girlfriend."

That seemed to be enough to snap Catra out of it as she turned toward Adora who just smirked slightly.

"He's telling the truth."

Amur let out a scoff at this as he stood, brushing dirt from his fur.

"Okay, now that your three musketeers are here I'm getting back to work...Just do us all a favor and put Catra on a leash...Before she ends up actually hurting someone." He said before heading back toward the work site.


	56. Chapter 56

"Catra stop pacing before you wear a hole into the floor...I'm sure that between the surgeons _and_ the healers that Adora will be fine." Cyra commented, tail flipping across the carpet as she lay on the couch, eyes closed as the bitter smell of fear and worry seemed to consume her sense of smell.

 _Ugh...They know how tough the girl is and if Catra would **listen** she would know that Adora's heart is beating strong._ She thought, ignoring the growl and half-snarl that came from her daughter.

"I'm sure she's right. I mean the surgery isn't _that_ major. I mean it's not like they're trying to repair a break in the spine or something." Glimmer stated but she was just as nervous as Catra.

"Do you know what all could go wrong in there? She could bleed to death or..." Catra began only to be cut off by Cyra.

"Catra...The best of the best is in there with her. I doubt something like that will happen. It's not like in the ancient times when Ether was used to knock someone out. Now sit down and try to calm down, your girlfriend would kill all of us—broken arm or not—if she woke up only to find that you had a nervous breakdown."

"Cyra's right, besides Adora's stronger than that." Bow finally spoke up, earning a dirty look from Catra.

"Anything can happen."

"Yeah anything can but you working yourself up into a panic attack or something isn't going to help." Glimmer told Catra, just as the door opened and Amur walked in.

"Okay...I _was_ going to see how Blondie was doing but seeing as Catra is going rabid I think I'm going to guess you haven't heard anything yet." he commented, barely able to dodge a soda bottle being hurled at his head.

"Shut up you bastard!"

"Oh wow... _very_ princess of you, How is it that you got the Tiger's Eye Brooch again?"

Cyra facepalmed as she listened to her nephew and daughter. She knew very well what Amur was doing _but_ that didn't mean that it wasn't threatening to give her a headache.

"If you two brats are going to start _**this**_ shit take it _**outside."**_

The first thing that she was aware of was a massive amount of pain in her left arm, the second was the hand that was holding onto her good hand.

Glancing up in the dimly lit room she saw that not only Catra was slumped over asleep in a chair by her bed while Bow and Glimmer were sleeping sitting up on a sofa by one wall, leaning against each other. She moved to sit up slightly, feeling Catra shift and yawn.

"Oh hey, How long have you been awake?" the feline asked, earning a chuckle.

"Not long. How long have I been out?" Adora asked with a wince.

"Uh three hours...They said that they had to give you a lot of medicine since you kept waking up on them." Catra answered, glancing at the clock before adding "it must be a She-Ra thing."

Adora managed a nod as she glanced down at her arm, wincing as she tried to lift it.

"Hey, don't move around too much. You'll rip a stitch or something. Does it hurt? I can have a doctor bring you something? I mean the only healer who could have healed _**bone**_ isn't in this world anymore _but_ I'm sure there's something someone can do for pain." Catra said, gingerly placing a hand over the bandaged arm.

"No, I should be okay. I mean I _was_ chosen as force captain...I should be able to handle this." Adora retorted, earning a snort of amusement.

"Pretty sure I was the one who was better at hiding when she was hurt but okay...whatever. At least let me go get something to take the edge off." Catra retorted before standing, giving the sofa where the other two teens were sitting a kick.

"Hey, she's awake. I'm going to go get her something for pain...Make sure her stubborn ass doesn't move around too much." she told them before leaving.

Catra awoke with a kink in her neck and a numb tail—the latter because somehow in her sleep, it had curled across Adora's waist. Sitting up she saw that Adora wasn't asleep, but rather staring at her.

"Okay...That's not creepy at all. What's up? Are you in pain?" she questioned, earning a negative shake of the head.

"No, I was just thinking...You've kinda changed since you went off to Half-Moon. You're less guarded...Less angry." she said simply, smiling slightly.

"I guess I learned I don't have anything I really needed to prove but let's not worry about the past, okay? After this war I want to see the world with you...like we always talked about when we were kids." Catra responded, turning to face Adora who just grinned.

"That sounds like a plan for me. After this...I'm done with fighting."

Catra somehow doubted that Adora—as long as she was She-Ra—would ever be truly done with fighting, but she didn't say anything. After all, that would be a problem for future Catra and Adora.

A problem—Catra vowed—That they would face together.

"Never thought either of us would say this, but me too." Catra responded, closing her eyes as images of those graves at Half-Moon flashed before her eyes.

"Hey Catra," Adora began after a few minutes, earning a hum in response. "Don't move, I want to try something."

Before Catra could even comprehend what was happening, she felt a pair of lips press against hers. She froze up until Adora pulled away.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue? I thought you said you liked me?" Adora teased, earning a light growl from Catra.

"No but I'm pretty sure this cat can take your breath." Catra responded before returning the kiss, careful not to be too forceful due to Adora's injury.

"How is that for like you?" Catra retorted as she pulled away, face flushing slightly as she added "besides, I think I may do _more_ than _like_ you...Ya know?"

Adora just giggled at that and lightly flicked her on the forehead.

"Yeah, I think I do. I also know that you'd rather choke on a hairball than say it." Adora quipped, earning a dirty look.

"Hey, it is not fair bringing _**that**_ up either!" Catra said before leaning against her and beginning to purr, using the sound to try to convey what she was feeling to Adora, however as the sound continued, Adora began to notice something happening.

The mask that Catra wore was glowing very faintly, seeming to flicker with the pulse of the sound and suddenly Adora began to notice that her arm wasn't hurting so much anymore, the pain being replaced by a gentle warmth.

"Catra? What are you doing?" she questioned, causing the half-feline to open up her eyes and seeing the glow of the mask.

"I...I don't know, it's never done that before. Why, did I hurt you?" Catra questioned, eyes growing slightly wide as she backed up.

"No...It...My arm stopped hurting. I think you might want to go get Cyra, maybe she can tell us what the hell is going on." Adora responded, earning a nod.

"Yeah, you're right."


	57. Chapter 57

"A part of the Royal family's connection to the rune stone is that when channeled through that mask...It grants the user incredible power. I can only assume that your concern and love for Adora triggered a healing response." Cyra said, ignoring the way that Catra's face flushed when she said this.

"Adora, go down to the healers...I _**think**_ you can have the brace removed. Catra I'd like to talk to you for a second." the magi-cat queen added, earning a sigh.

"What did I do _now?_ " Catra questioned as soon as Adora left, earning a sigh from Cyra who glanced up at the ceiling and took a breath before motioning for Catra to follow her.

"Catra, we weren't going to tell either you or Adora about this...but the Horde seems to be moving toward the Ice kingdom. If they do attack, the rebellion is going to need _**all**_ the help they can get and if you should choose to fight...I want you to actually have something stronger than your father's light paw with you." Cyra said once they were alone in Cyra's bedroom.

"Mom, I can turn into a giant monster cat _and_ I've taken on She-Ra with just my hands. Why don't you just tell me what exactly all my powers _are_ so I know what I can do in battle if push comes to shove?" Catra retorted, crossing her arms over her chest although the older woman just grinned.

"Yes, well...We will get to that in a minute. First I have something for you, something that will truly connect you to your heritage as princess of the magi-cats." Cyra said before going over to one of the trunks that Dillion had packed from Half-Moon, drawing out a long object that was covered by a satin bag.

"I already gave Amur the partner to this one because although his jealousy is a issue...He also is no traitor. Here...This has been passed down...Although before I came to the throne, your great grandmother was the last to use it." Cyra continued as she pulled a sword from the bag, the light in the room glinting off the red crystals that decorated it's hilt.

Catra was at a loss for words as she was handed the weapon which felt heavy—even if Adora's blade hadn't.

"What about you? What if they attack here as well? I...I can't lose you too...Not after just starting to get to know you." Catra finally said, voice wavering slightly although a rough hand gripped her shoulder.

"I can still turn into a cat, besides that...These masks are _not_ just to allow us transformations. Those deemed worthy of it are granted powers beyond anything most of our species can dream of. I have only been able to tap into it one time...long ago...But I have a feeling that you will surpass even me. Which is why I wanted to tell you about everything that is possible...although the strongest is known as a freeze fire."

"Freeze Fire? Is that the best name that they could come up with?" Catra retorted, earning a snort.

"Trust me, when you see what it does...You'll understand...Lack of creativity or not." Cyra retorted before nudging her and adding "Come on, let's get away from everything and I'll show you."

Catra watched in amazement as an explosive wave of energy shot from her palm, seemingly freezing and burning the ground simultaneously—something that Catra wouldn't have thought possible if she hadn't seen it.

"Wow. This mask does all of that?" Catra stated, earning a nod.

"Yeah...and more _but_ I want you to be careful who you tell about this." Cyra said before adding, you try.

Catra suddenly felt like a little kid again, being evaluated in the fright-zone's simulation rooms. Glancing toward Cyra, she had to remind herself that her mother was not going to judge her nearly as harshly as Shadow Weaver.

 _Come on, you can do it. You did more than **anyone** thought you could. You are strong enough to go neck to neck with a battle god like She-Ra! You can do this!_

She told herself, although when she tried to summon the energy out of her body—Nothing happened.

But she knew that she couldn't quit, not this time.

 _Come on! You have to do this! If you don't you could lose **everything!**_ _You just met your mother not even four months ago! You just got Adora back! You still have so much to learn about **what** you are...about **who** you are outside of a military setting! _ _If you lose to the Horde you could lose **all** of that! _

She didn't even notice that her hands were glowing blue, that was until a blast nearly made her fall backward onto the ground.

"Holy Shit! What was that?" She shouted, glancing out at where the grass was burning with a small amount of bright blue flames.

"Evidently that was your Freeze fire...Although I think a more _technical_ term would be Blast fire." Cyra responded, smirking as she walked over to her daughter and held out her hand.

"Come on, we still have a lot to cover before you can rest."

Catra nodded, allowing the older Magi-Cat to pull her to her feet.

"So what _else_ is there to learn?"

Catra questioned, genuinely curious now, after all, she had not expected to go from some kind of urchin to a royal of _anything,_ let alone have this much power on her _own_ without _any_ kind of help.

"close your eyes, focus and tell me what you _feel._ Do you feel _anything_ around us?"Cyra responded, arching a brow as Catra closed her eyes, ears twitching around as they strained to listen to any hint.

"No."

Catra answered, earning a chuckle.

"sit-down and relax. Don't rely on your other senses. This should come far easier for you since you already run on instinct." Cyra said calmly and Catra obeyed.

She didn't know how long that she had been sitting there until suddenly she began to feel _something_ although she wasn't for sure _what_ it was, especially since it seemed to be coming from a lot of directions. To her west she felt a calm, soothing, sensation however it seemed like a strong, electric, warm energy that almost threatened to choke her.

"What is that?" She questioned, only to jump when she felt as though electricity had suddenly touched her—although it didn't take long to realize that her mother had placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Magic...We have a small amount of telekinetic power and one of those powers is to be able to feel sources of magic or magic users." Cyra answered softly before adding "That's how I knew you had arrived in Half-Moon, the energy that I felt from you was chaotic, like a fire storm raging...it still is...but that is a part of who you are...it's your determination and passion. Don't ever let anyone break that part of you."


	58. Chapter 58

A week had passed and there had been little communication with the rebellion's forces. Cyra couldn't help but worry, especially since the last that they had heard, winter had overtaken both armies and there was only so much that they could do in the harsh conditions. However on top of that, she worried for Angella, who hadn't been sleeping well—if at all.

"Those kids have a spark in them that no one before had...Not to mention they have a legendary warrior that has untold power."

Dillion had tried to comfort them _but_ it did little for either Cyra or Angella—both who got even more antsy as time went on and Cyra was about to venture off toward where the battle was happening to see what was going on. However one night while she sat in the beckon tower she saw a sudden flash of light come from over the ridge.

Every hair on her body stood up then as she grabbed a telescope, only to relax when she saw a familiar blast of pinkish energy once again.

 _They're home._

That was the first thought that entered her mind as she jumped from the platform, foregoing the stairs and heading toward the throne room.

"Angella! On the ridge...Our troops are coming home!"

She watched as Angella bolted to her feet.

"Did you see...?"

Cyra didn't give Angella time to respond.

"Glimmer was the one who signaled. She's alright."

Adora's whole body hurt and she was sure she had never been this tired in her life. She could only imagine how Frosta felt—who despite her arguments—had finally gave up and rode Swift Wind, which left Adora to walk.

Or ride on Catra—Which the Magi-Cat insisted on, even though she had already let Entrapta use her as a pack mule.

"As soon as we get to bright-moon I am going to curl up in the tightest ball possible and sleep for a **month**!" Catra groaned as they neared the palace, turning her head slightly to find that Entrapta had already fallen asleep—which earned the young genius a wack with the magi-cat's tail.

"Hey brains, wake up...We're back." Catra stated "Scorpia, go ahead and take Amur inside...He needs medical attention _**stat**_. Adora and I need to go with Bow and Glimmer." She added, earning a groggy retort as Entrapta slowly slid off her.

"You know, you didn't _have_ to give me a ride. I'm heavier than Entrapta." Adora stated, earning a snicker.

"Yeah well Magi-cat's have a lot more stamina than a puny human." Catra quipped before letting out a sigh before pushing the mask off her face, shifting back. "You go on ahead...I need a moment."

Adora nodded although she put a hand on Catra's arm for a brief minute before heading inside and leaving Catra outside alone.

"You know, you did what you could. I mean they chose to fight...They knew the risks." Perfuma said, pausing as she walked past the feline, who just sighed.

"I know they wouldn't listen to logic...even my _mom_ couldn't talk them out of it. But I'm can't help that they were selfish for insisting that both of them fight out of revenge...They have two kids they left behind because they refused to think with their brains." Catra responded, turning toward the other girl before sighing.

"I guess waiting around won't help me really be prepared for that huh?"

When she walked in she couldn't help but freeze when she suddenly found herself engulfed in a bone crushing hug—one that she couldn't stop herself from pushing away from.

"Mom! Jeez! Doesn't anyone _but_ me understand the meaning of personal space?" she complained, although she gave up fighting with Cyra and just let it be.

"Are you hurt? What happened?" Cyra asked after a few minutes, pulling away although Catra just sighed, ears lowering as she took a breath.

"Hordak thought that they could use the harsh winters that the kingdom of snow experiences to weaken us so we not only were met with a unit of soldiers but an _**army."**_ Catra began, glancing over at Adora who was being checked over by Angella before she added

"He must have feared She-Ra's power now that all the rune stones are together. He got involved and he was not holding back. But somehow we did it...All of us together. _**Even**_ if there were losses...and _**everyone**_ is pretty banged up."

 _how do you tell someone that their highest ranking healer and three generals were lost?_ She wondered as she reached into the space between her armor and shirt, pulling out a locket that she had been given by Maye, one of Cyra's best healers.

"I need to talk to Maye and Tehok's kids...I was the one who saw them fall...I should be the one to break it to them." she said, watching as Cyra's expression darkened.

"Are you sure? You've already been through so much already." Cyra responded, earning a sigh.

"It has to be me, the only other person I would let tell them is Amur and he lost his fucking hand in that battle trying to save Maye...Trying to get two people from jumping her at once." Catra said, the stress of the whole thing catching up to her as she began to shake.

"There was so many just laying there, bleeding out... _crying..._ I never thought about any of that before but seeing it...Seeing people on both sides fall...People I _**knew**_ , people that I grew up with. I mean, we weren't close _at all_ but..."

Catra re-accounted, her eyes burning as she tried to hold back the tears that she didn't want to show to anyone. But she was just so tired of everything...of Fighting...Of seeing people die. Things that before now, she knew she really wouldn't have thought about.

But now...

Now she saw the effects of it on other people, people she cared about.

People that had helped her come to understand herself.

And she hated it.

But Cyra didn't give her time to try to reign in the unwanted emotion because no sooner as the words had left Catra's mouth, the queen's arms had wrapped around her again, which seemed to cause the rest of her walls to crumble.

Cyra glanced around the room, feeling both disgusted and saddened by the fact that these kids were facing things that it was hard even for an adult to comprehended in battle. She could see Adora sitting down, talking to Glimmer and Angella and although she couldn't see the girl's face, Cyra could only assume that she too was about to cave under the pressure of all the emotions that had probably just crashed down onto her.

 _We need to fix whatever system that caused this mess so no one else needs to feel like these children. Children doesn't belong in the battle field...Even if these kids were the ones who **won** this war for us._ _But at what cost?_

The queen of the magi-cat's thought as she felt Catra slowly get some control back over herself.

"We can tell them together...In the morning. It's too late to wake them up. Right now, focus on _you_. All of you have been through so much, it's time that you all had a break." Cyra advised once the teen had finally got enough willpower to pull away.

Then glancing back up, Cyra found her line of vision landed on where Scorpia and Entrapta hung toward the back of the room, looking on at the reunions that were happening all around them.

"Come on, I think there's two more that is owed a thanks for their services."

Catra watched in surprise as Cyra walked over to the pair, causing both of them to nearly jolt out of their skins when she put an arm across both of their shoulders—although that was short lived because Scorpia returned the gesture with a full hug.

Catra knew that this had taken a lot more out of Scorpia than she dared let anyone see, especially since one—or possibly two or more—were her own kin. However Catra would have had to admit that Cyra was the _**last**_ person that she had thought would have welcomed either of the former horde soldiers back.

"Come on, you all need to get checked out by a doctor and get some food and rest. Heavens know you guys deserve it." Cyra said as soon as Scorpia let go.

"I thought your mom didn't like us?" Entrapta whispered to Catra as they followed Cyra down the hall, earning a shrug from Catra.

"I don't think she didn't like you...I think it was just a bit all too weird for her. I mean not many people have your powers and well...Scorpia _**was**_ a Horde commander."


	59. Chapter 59

"This is _**your**_ fault! If you hadn't came back then they wouldn't have had to fight in this dumb war!"

The logical part of Catra's mind knew that this was just because of the pain that the child was feeling, but she couldn't help that the words hurt.

"She's just really upset...She doesn't mean..." Cyra whispered to her as Kissa rushed off, leaving her brother standing there with a torn look on his face.

"Did they suffer?"

She was caught off guard by his question but she did answer with a shake of her head.

"Good...I'll take the locket. We would have ended up fighting anyway...No one was safe from the Horde. I know that." Mecka said, obviously trying to keep a brave face about him although his voice trembled with every word.

"Hey, you know it's okay to cry right? Your parents wouldn't want you to hurt yourself just because of some stupid idealism." Catra said, squeezing his shoulder slightly although suddenly she almost was knocked off her feet when he suddenly hugged her.

"Ow! Damn it woman! I'm starting to think that I'd be better off with a _stump!"_ Amur yelped just as Adora walked in, earning a quizzical look from the blonde.

"Uh...What in the world is Entrapta doing to you?" she questioned, earning a light hiss from the young man on the table.

"She's _supposed_ to be trying to size up _something_ in order to make some kind of movable prosthesis. What she _is_ doing however, is trying to tear the _**rest**_ of my arm off." Amur retorted—earning an eye-roll from Entrapta.

"I am _not_ you big baby, besides if you would stop fidgeting so much then it wouldn't hurt!"

Adora couldn't help but snicker at their exchange before remembering why it was she had came into the medical room to begin with.

"Have either of you two seen Catra? Cyra is kinda worried about her since she seemed to have just up and vanished shortly after breakfast." she asked, earning a shrug from Amur.

"No idea, last I saw her she had came in here to ask me and Kefira would act as guardians to the Aurata kittens." He retorted, sighing when he saw the confused look on Adora's face.

"Aurata...Was a settlement located deep in the forest right by the edge of the ocean. I guess it _wasn't_ just Catra's lack of an attention span that caused her not to know _anything_ about the coalition. Anyway, why don't you look somewhere no one would ever go? Catra tends to slink off if she feels like she's too emotional. But you should know that...You grew up with her."

"I think I know the perfect place for her to hide out. Thanks Amur!"

Adora wasn't surprised when she was right to assume that Catra had climbed up into the hay loft of the palace's stables. She tried to be as quiet as possible as she walked over to her girlfriend? Friend?—she wasn't sure what to call them yet—however the tell tale sign of Catra's ears twitching back toward her direction told Adora that she had been caught.

"What's wrong?" Adora asked once Catra didn't say anything—or make a move to turn toward her.

"Kissa thinks that I was the cause of her parent's deaths...That is I hadn't came to half-moon then they wouldn't have had to join in the war."

Catra's answer came out nearly a whisper—although Adora was surprised she got one at all.

"You know that isn't true. You didn't order _anyone_ to join in the battle, _**you**_ were wanting to be the only Magi-cat there, remember? Amur and the others were the ones who volunteered! Kissa is just really hurting right now and she is saying things that she doesn't mean." Adora responded as she came to sit beside of Catra—who she could tell had been crying.

"What if she _is_ right though? Everyone always said that I was a screw up! What if it is true? What if I just bring bad luck to everyone? I mean look what I did to you! I couldn't get my head out of my own ass long enough to see that you _didn't_ leave me...And I almost killed you _**how**_ many times? What if they are right? What if they were right? what if I am a danger to _anyone_ who dares to get close to me?" Catra said suddenly after a few minutes of silence, catching Adora completely off-guard by what she had said.

"Who told you that you that?" Adora questioned, wincing when she heard her own town sharpening.

"Everyone in our unit! Shadow Weaver! Even your friends! It's always the same fricking thing! _You better not hurt her Catra! You'll regret letting her hang around you Adora, she'll only hurt you_! I know I _**have**_ but..." Catra answered, choking back a sob as she trailed off, arms wrapping around her.

"Catra, stop. We hurt each other...A lot...and we'll never be able to forget that but we can try to move past it. As for Glimmer...She's as over protective as her mother. Shadow Weaver and the others were always terrible to you so you shouldn't worry about what they said, they just knew we made a kick ass team and were scared by it!"Adora responded, really hoping that she—especially with the last part of that sentence—could at least get Catra to smile.

It worked.

"I guess you're right...But I can't seem to shake the thoughts you know? Even after I overthrew bitchzilla...She still seems to be able to get in my head." Catra responded, earning a sigh.

"I know. I still can hear her telling me that something is my fault...That I'm never going to live up to my potential if I don't shape up." Adora confessed "it kinda helps to surround yourself with people that make you feel worth something, you know?"

Catra nodded then, removing her mask and glancing at it.

"Yeah, I know. That's why I stayed in Half-Moon. Cyra is just as painfully blunt and intimidating as the commanding officers of the Fright-Zone were but she is _safe_ and when I felt like I was completely alone...It seemed like she _knew_ and she would _always_ make sure I felt like I had at least _one_ person on my side." She stated, smiling slightly at what Adora could only assume was a memory.

"Well Cyra _is_ a queen and I am pretty sure that even Angella could be scary if someone made her _really_ mad." Adora retorted, earning a light chuckle.

"Trust me, she _is."_


	60. Chapter 60

"Ow! Watch it!"

Angella wasn't sure _what_ startled her more, the fact that she just stepped on something that had nearly tripped her as it pulled itself from under her foot _or_ that a voice seemed to come out of nowhere.

At least that was until a large, dark shadow with two-tone glowing eyes came from beneath the table.

"Spirits." Angella swore, letting out a bit of a chuckle as she continued "I know that Mysticor and Half-Moon were allies for a long while but I will never get used to your species' strange sleeping behavior. Are you alright?"

Catra just chuckled, flicking the offended appendage through the air a time or two before shifting back into her normal form.

"Yeah, trust me. Nothing is worse than having a door slammed on it...don't ask. What are you doing awake at this hour anyway?" Catra responded, falling into step beside the Queen who sighed at the question.

"I could ask you the same question."

Catra rolled her eyes before retorting "my bed is currently occupied by my girlfriend who talks in her sleep _and_ a nine-year-old that has kicked me at least _**four**_ times an hour. Figured I'd be more comfortable on the floor." Catra retorted, flicking her tail once again as if to test it.

A silence passed over them then as Angella stopped by a stained glass window, hand touching the glass before she sighed.

"I remember him...faintly."

Angella was surprised by this and turned her full attention to the feline.

"You do?"

Catra nodded.

"I remember coming to Bright-Moon a few times with my parents. I _also_ remember hiding behind either of them almost the whole time." She responded, chuckling at the memory before adding "I never thanked you for taking a risk with me...Because if you hadn't...I probably never would have understood what family is."

"Everyone deserves to know where they came from, Catra. Even _you."_

It was nearly day break when Catra finally managed to fall asleep—curled up on the floor near the foot of her bed and out of the way of any kicking feet.

However, even in sleep her mind raced with questions that she still wasn't sure of the answer to.

What will happen now?

What would become of the Horde prisoners?

Would she fall victim to some kind of unspoken rule now that the war was over—now that she was a _princess_ of all things? Would she be forced to return to Half-Moon when her mother left?

These thoughts arranged themselves as dreams, playing out scenario after scenario in her mind until she finally woke up with a groan.

Only to find that a blanket had been thrown over her massive form.

Smiling slightly at the gesture she glanced up toward the bed, seeing both Adora and Mecka gone.

 _Maybe things won't be all so bad now that we have time to do other things besides fight. I definitely want to know more about what I can do with my own power...Plus I think I owe Adora a normal date._


	61. Chapter 61

"Catra, you worry to much. Just _**ask**_ her." Cyra commented as she glanced over at the younger Magi-cat who was pacing across the room.

"What about all that mushy junk about flowers and what not? I can't _just_ go up to her and say 'hey Adora, wanna go out!"

Catra's response made the queen let out a laugh.

"You are overthinking it. I'm pretty sure that Adora wont care _how_ you say it...Or what you do really." Cyra said, rolling her eyes before returning her attention to the book she was flipping through.

"Some help you are. That flying feather-duster of Adora's would give better advice!"

"Then _go_ ask Swift Wind for advice then! Whatever you do, don't forget about the thing that that Angella wanted us to be present at." Cyra retorted, trying to hide her amusement at the teenager.

"fine, I will."

Angella had to sidestep Catra on her way down the hall, earning a muted hiss from the teen who was obviously lost in thought.

"What did you say to her?" Angella questioned once she entered the lounge area where Cyra was sitting, earning a chuckle.

"I think it was what I _didn't_ say. She's spazzing about Adora...or rather how to ask Adora on a date." The magi-cat answered with a flick of her tail as she stood, stretching. "You'd think she wouldn't freak out so much since they grew up together."

Angella let out a sigh then and Cyra could tell that she was trying not to roll her eyes at that statement.

"I think _Glimmer_ may have had something to do that. I overheard a rather interesting conversation between those two and Bow earlier today."

Angella's response earned a scoff from Cyra who had adopted a mischievous grin at that.

"Well at least we know that our little get together tonight won't be boring." Cyra commented, only to earn a look.

"Don't you encourage them. I can imagine that they will be able to find things to pester each other about without the external influence." She retorted, only to earn a chuckle.

"Whatever are you talking about? Don't you think I'm too old to pull shit like that?"

Angella only arched a brow.

"No, No I don't. Knowing _you,_ you'll make _**everything**_ worse."

"You can't even figure out how to ask a girl out!"

"Shut up, at least I don't look like a walking cupcake!"

Cyra couldn't help but laugh when she walked one of the common areas and overheard _this._

"Catra, stop calling people names. You wouldn't like it if I started calling you Puffball now would you?" Cyra retorted, watching as Catra's face turned red.

"Mom! Shut up!"

Glimmer couldn't help but laugh at the feline's perdicument.

"Okay what happened. With how she's acting, there _has got_ to be a story behind that." She retorted, earning a death glare from Catra although Cyra just grinned.

"Well you know how _some_ people are afraid of water? Well Amur decided to take her night fishing..."

Catra didn't let her mother finish before shoving half of a sandwich into Cyra's mouth, effectively shutting her up.

"No one wants to hear your dumb stories Mom!"

"Oh come on. How bad can it be? I mean when Bow first took me fishing, I screamed because I thought this long fish was a snake." Glimmer responded just as Angella walked in.

"Was that the time you came home soaking wet because you blasted into the water?"

Catra began to relax a bit when Glimmer just chuckled.

"Yeah...Bow didn't let me live that down for a week."

"Okay...I didn't mistake a fish for a snake _but_ I _did_ fall into the lake...Twice and Water and fur doesn't mix." Catra confessed, trying to swallow down her own embarrassment.

"Didn't mix, Catra you looked like you had stuck your tail inside an electrical outlet." Cyra retorted, only to earn a growl from Catra.

"And again, Shut up mother!"

As conversation turned away from stories that embarrassed _both_ of the teenagers in question to other topics—as well as a card game that Catra didn't understand—Catra began to find herself relaxing.

"Okay, how is it that I _keep_ losing to two old farts and Princess Sprinkles?" She commented, earning a chuckle from Cyra and an annoyed look from Angella.

"Excuse me?"

Every inch of fur on Catra's body visibly stiffened at that, although Cyra and Glimmer both had started laughing in earnest.

"Oh stop taking everything so seriously Angella! It's not like she put mud in your tea or something!" Cyra retorted, earning an irritated look from the other woman.

"Here I thought _Tora_ was the terrible one but I can see that you are just as bad as he was, if not worse." Angella retorted, before letting out a chuckle.

"Although you didn't ever do anything that terrible."

"I can't believe your mother actually _has_ a sense of humor." Catra commented later that night as she and Glimmer headed toward their rooms.

"And I can't believe you pushed your mom's face into her ice cream like that." Glimmer retorted, snickering a bit at the memory.

"Hey, that's what she gets for embarrassing me! I mean there was **no** reason for her to tell you two about how I managed to fall for the kitten's berry muck prank. I mean _maybe_ it was funny that I was purple for a week _**but**_ try having that scent haunting you twenty-four seven! I should do that to her and see how she likes it!" Catra retorted

"I think Mom's are just like that...You know, embarrassing and annoying. Spirits knows my Mom is. Guess we just have to put up with our moms being a pain in the ass, huh?" Glimmer said, earning a snicker from Catra.

"Diffidently."


	62. Chapter 62

Catra had never felt this nervous before, not even when Shadow Weaver was breathing down her neck.

 _Come on Catra, relax. You've known Adora for your whole life. The worse thing that can happen is that she'll say no or laugh at you...and she **did** kiss you so._

She mentally told herself, trying to work up the courage to actually go through with her plan. However it seemed like the more she hung out on the low hanging branch, watching as Adora brushed Swift-Wind's mane, the more nervous that she had became.

She didn't know how long that she had sat there, but suddenly a bright flash of light caused Catra to fall off the branch with an oof.

"So _that's_ who was in the tree." swift-wind stated, earning an annoyed grumble Adora who rushed over to her.

"Shit, Catra are you alright?"

She demanded, earning a sigh from Catra who set up.

"Well I'm not seeing three of you so I guess I'm okay." Catra retorted, casting a glare over at the alicorn as she added "although your unicorn may wanna sleep with one eye open...otherwise he may wake up with is wings clipped."

She stated, earning a snort.

"You'll have to catch me first, Cat girl."

Adora just rolled her eyes at that and lightly batted Catra's shoulder.

"Will you two ever stop?"

She questioned, earning a snicker.

"Probably not because he ruined my plans." Catra retorted, tail flicking nervously as she added "Um...So _anyways_ I was wondering...If _maybe_ we could...I don't know...Go somewhere? Like...Um...On a actual date? I mean...If you want?"

Adora couldn't help but laugh at that as she leaned in, stealing a kiss from the half-feline.

"Catra, were you nervous to ask me out? Really? Did you really think I would say no?" Adora retorted, snickering as she saw that Catra was blushing.

"Of course. Although I have no idea where we could go."

Catra just grinned a little as she set up, taking control of the situation by returning the kiss before she answered:

"Why don't you just leave the planning to _me_? I do have plans you know." Catra responded before returning the kiss before adding "just wear something comfortable and meet me in the dining hall at six."

"I can't believe you actually made reservations here." Adora said as she let Catra walk her into the small restaurant only earning a grin from Catra who shrugged.

"I wanted to actually do something _nice_ for once. I mean this is the first time either of us have done anything...that is unless you and Glitter glue didn't have something going on at some point." Catra retorted, which only earned her a look.

"I could ask the same about you and Lonnie...Or you and Scorpia." Adora retorted, watching as the feline smiled.

"Touche."

Dinner went on without a hitch—which was a pleasant surprise for Catra since she most diffidently _didn't_ expect things to go this smoothly—however Catra couldn't help but wonder if maybe she was doing this whole thing wrong. After all, wasn't dates supposed to be about more than dinner and small talk?

"Hey Adora, wanna dance?" She finally asked, really hoping that the request didn't make Adora think about the prom years before.

"Only if neither of us end up getting hurled into a table again." Adora retorted, smirking as she reached over and took Catra's hand as she added "and only if you let me lead this time."

Catra felt blood rushing to her face when she heard this but she just shrugged.

"Sure, it's not like I care who leads, as long as I don't totally fuck this date up." she answered, earning a snort of laughter from her girlfriend.

"Catra, tonight has been perfect. Just relax okay? Everything will be fine." Adora said, pressing her lips to Catra's before she could even begin to argue.


	63. Chapter 63

"do you think that she will honestly be able to amount to anything? Cyra, you may as wells leave the throne to one of the lesser cats!"

Cyra rolled hey eyes at this and sighed

"Nahuel, that girl walked through literal hell with the rebellion and yet you say that?" Cyra responded, earning a scoff.

"She also is out gallivanting around with a _**girl**_ or do I need to remind you that the crown is passed along to blood heirs?" Nahuel responded, earning a scoff.

"And I care _**why?**_ Do you really think that tradition is more important than happiness?"

Cyra watched as his eyes grew wide.

"Your mother would..."

"What? Kill me? Turn over in her grave? Yeah, she also beat me within an inch of my life because I dared to question her during the summit. Face it Nahuel, My mother wasn't the best queen nor mother...and I'm going to make damn sure I leave behind a legacy that _isn't_ like hers...starting with my daughter and her girlfriend and if you do not like it, then, by all means, move out of Half–Moon!"

Cyra growled just as Amur walked into the room.

"Nahuel, give it a rest. Catra risked her neck to stand with our tribes so just shut the fuck up already."

"Are you _sure_ your mom is going to be okay with me staying over? I mean aren't Magi-cats all traditional and what not?" Adora asked as she followed Catra into the newly built Palace, earning a scoff from the feline who just rolled her eyes.

"Adora, you saved the fucking world _and_ we've been dating for months! I doubt my mother is going to really give a damn what a pair of eighteen-year-olds do. I mean come on, this isn't the dark ages or something." Catra retorted as she pulled Adora into the bunker, smirking slightly at the other girl's confused expression.

"We can go straight into the main palace like this. That way no one can rat us out to my mom because while I'm sure she doesn't mind having you over...I think she _would_ mind the fact that I smell like I swam through a distillery." the feline explained, earning a laugh from her girlfriend.

"Hey, you're the one who thought it would be smart to go to a pub... _and_ kick a drunken idiot into a table." Adora retorted, earning a smirk.

"Hey, you told him to leave you alone _four times_. A ex-Horde soldier is expected not to be able to control themselves, you're She-Ra. Pretty sure fighting would look bad on you." Catra responded, earning an eye roll from Adora.

"and it doesn't look bad on you? You're mother is going to flip."

"Pretty sure my mom won't really give a damn. You should hear some of the stuff that she has done! Now come on, I spent enough time underground and nothing can make this place less creepy when no one else is around." Catra responded, pulling Adora along, only to find herself being pulled back and pinned to the cold metal wall.

"I think I could change your mind."

Catra smirked slightly at that and arched a brow.

"I think you better prove it.

Cyra sighed as she ran a hand through her hair, really regretting the choice of allowing Nahuel back among her elite—although that was something that she was sure would be short lived—but really the only place that she could seem to escape the duties of being queen was in the now empty bunker.

Or so she _thought_ it was empty.

Then she smelled hard liquor.

 _Oh great...Now I have to put a bunch of old coots out of here because they decided to celebrate something or another_.

She thought as she continued down the hall, only to freeze at what she saw that the source of the scent was none other than her _daughter_ and said daughter's girlfriend—which were currently locked in a make-out session.

 _Oh for the love of all that is pure in this world._

"Whoa...Okay PDA! Do that where no one else can see it!" Cyra yelped, covering her good eye before adding "And do I even want to know why you smell like Bruichladdich, Catra?"

She really had to keep from laughing as the pair staggered apart, blushing furiously and stuttering for an answer.

"Well? I don't have all night." Cyra said, crossing her arms and trying to appear intimdating—although the only thing she really wanted to do was find some kind of spell that would erase _that_ particular image from her brain.

"I swear I had _**one**_ drink. I just also happened to have four pints of _something_ poured on me." Catra finally managed to say, although Cyra was sure that wasn't the whole story.

"Well you don't seem _too_ drunk...But how the hell did...You know what...I don't wanna know right now, heavens know I'll probably hear about it later. Go take a shower...and no more...Whatever the hell I just walked in on...in middle of the hallway. There is some things a parent just does _**not**_ need to see." Cyra said with a sigh, shaking her head slightly as the pair rushed out of the room.

 _I'm just glad that I didn't walk in on...Ugh...That is it...I am going to go see if I can't have a mage bleach **that** thought form my brain._

Later that night Cyra was surprised to see that Catra had walked into her chambers unannounced, looking nervous.

"What's wrong kitten? Your girlfriend kick you out of the room or something?" Cyra teased, earning a glare.

"No...But I...I don't know how to do... _this_ and I kinda don't want to go behind your back. I know we're young but..." Catra began, producing a sapphire necklace from her pocket, causing Cyra's eyes to grow wide.

"Catra, I think the thing about _that_ is...Wait until the right moment and then ask in the most sincere way possible. But if this goes well I am sending you two to Mysticor for two weeks because I am not having **any repeats** of what happened earlier...I don't want to have to burn _**that**_ image from my brain." Cyra answered, chuckling at the heat that crawled into her daughter's face.

"Mom! I swear you are such a ass sometimes! Just tell me what you think!" Catra exclaimed, earning a loud laugh.

"I think it's wonderful...and you have my full blessings."

Cyra wasn't expecting Catra to actually react to her answer—nor was she expecting to suddenly have the younger Magi-cat rubbing against her side in a half-hug.

"I am so nervous." Catra confessed in a whisper, only to earn a snicker as Cyra put an arm around her tightly.

"Just talk to her like you would any other time. It doesn't have to be fancy...and **don't** be like your father and try to ask when you have your mouth full...Poor guy got choked on part of a tuna sandwich and _**I**_ had to finish for him."

Adora wasn't sure _why_ Catra had lured her out on the roof in middle of the night—nor was she sure why a million floating orbs seemed to be dancing around the tower in an impromptu light show—put on by the twins, Adora was sure—however her breath almost hitched when she saw Catra standing there with a thing of flowers.

"Um...Hey Adora...I was starting to think you fell asleep on me." Catra began lamely and Adora knew something was wrong because Catra's tail was lashing about, wrapping and unwrapping around her waist and legs.

"Catra? What's wrong?" she asked instantly, watching as the half-feline licked her lips and glanced down.

"Nothing's wrong per say, I just...I don't know what to do when the _one_ thing that I have wanted the _most_ is standing in front of me and the thought of that _thing_ scares me to death." Catra began, her worsd confusing the blonde.

However before Adora could even began to speak, Catra spoke again.

"Adora...you never really gave up on me...even when I _know_ anyone else would. We've seen the worst and the best out of each other and despite everything that happened you chose to give me a chance and _love_ me _unconditionally_ despite **everything."**

Catra stopped at that, handing Adora the flowers before continuing

"and I know that making plans for the future isn't really my _thing_ but when I think of the future, all I really can imagine there is you."

It was then with trembling fingers that Catra produced the necklace from her pocket and held it out toward Adora.

"I guess what I am trying to say is will you be my wife?"

Adora was at an loss for words although she knew she had to say _something_.

"Catra I...I can't believe this...I mean...Of course I will...I mean, Yes." She stammered, feeling like an utter fool in that moment however before she could say anything else she felt a pair of lips press against hers, a laugh reverberating around them.

"You're such a dork but I love you anyway." Catra managed to say.

And for once she didn't nearly choke saying it.


End file.
